#it's only a brief detail so i wanted to expand it out here a little

[shares-a-vest]

After discovering Dustin doesn't have a dad and that Steve's jerk of a father is never around, Wayne decides he wants to take the pair on a camping/fishing trip. Nothing too exhausting or arduous. And certainly not in any kind of men-needing-to-be-out-in-the-wilderness-asserting-their-masculine-dominance way. At all. He'd had enough of that from his own father.

Besides, he knows Dustin likes exploring the outdoors with all his scientific endeavours. Observing the weather, looking up at the stars and studying wildlife. Mapping out their surroundings by hand with only a compass. Looking up plants and trees in his Midwest Wildlife textbook he lugs around a lot of the time. Wayne makes sure to encourage Dustin to bring any of his sciencey stuff he might want and discourages the others from teasing him about it. He even makes room in the back of the van, right next to his fishing basket.

Eddie similarly just wants to explore. Though Wayne would argue his nephew more forages like it's his natural habitat than Dustin's more focused studious approach. Wayne's brother Al had always taken issue with Eddie's desire to explore their surroundings when he'd tagged along on their camping trips. A tradition when Eddie was much younger that grew scanter as years went on and Al got himself into more trouble.

Al had always chided the boy, saying he was the troublemaker. 'Unfocused' he meant, along with all those other cruel things Wayne defended when Al said them just loud enough for Eddie to hear. But now Wayne lets him roam - under the strict stipulation he comes back before sundown and doesn't do anything too stupid like jump in a running river, of course!

Steve, on the other hand, simply wants to go fishing and cook up what they catch. Just sit by the campfire and look into the flames as they exist out in nature for a weekend, mostly in silence. He seems calmer - happier, even - as he sips quietly on a beer or two. And of course, Steve is an apt fisherman too.

When they arrive home to an overly-worried Claudia Henderson waiting on bated breath for her son as she stands between her two-door car and Steve's shiny maroon Beemer, Dustin practically tumbles out of the car, babbling a mile a minute as he flaps about his notebook filled with his 'findings'. Whatever they are, Wayne still doesn't quite understand.

And Steve gives him a tight hug that lingers for a long while, making Wayne realises the young man might be the loneliest boy in the world.

"Thanks, Wayne," he mumbles, stepping back and propping a hand on his hip like he is trying to remain casual.

"Any time, kid," he smiles and reaches out to pat Steve on the shoulder, "We'll go next time I have a few days off."

Steve gives the faintest sign of an agreeable nod, unaware that Wayne fully means it as a promise.

#I started writing about Wayne wanting to take the boys camping in something else I'm working on #it's only a brief detail so i wanted to expand it out here a little #idk i'm sure someone has suggested this already #wayne munson #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #lilys hcs #steddie headcanon

[yesimwriting]

Hi! You asked us if you should keep the tension or let the bubble pop and all I have to say is KEEP YHR TENSION. 1. It does seem more realistic bc it doesn’t seem like the reader is the kind of person who would do that to her friends, and 2. The casually intimacy they all display with the bubbling tension of something more constantly keeps me going on the hard days, I NEED IT‼️ Like desperately (im so normal about this fic and is in no way unhealthy attached to it, why’d you ask?🙂*eye twitch*/j kinda) this actually got me thinking I wonder if other people ever notice how casually intimate they are? Like Stu’s naturally touchy but the way he dotes on her and the way Billy is just different from normal Billy when he’s with her,like not even just Randy, tate, and sid like other people who have known them for a while but they aren’t friends, like aquatints I’d love to see that

I’m sorry this spiraled, anyways all im saying is i personally love the tension, I love this story and I love you and you’re brilliance *MWAH <3* sorry for any spelling mistakes I was kinda rushing

a/n this ask is so sweet!! <3 also love the chance to expand on the final girl universe!!

i love this ask especially bc i feel like billy and stu have gotten so relaxed around final girl fic y/n that she probably just thinks they're like that and doesn't pick up on anyone finding it different 😭

the fic under the cut is in the final girl fic universe but it isn't a part of the main fic so it can be read as a stand alone

i think all the context needed is in the ask :) anyway here are some moments that made the people around billy, stu, and y/n raise their eyebrows a little 😭

----

"Billy." That's all it takes to snap him out of sludgy version of auto pilot he lets take over on days like this. Days that drag on in their mundaneness in a way that makes it hard for him to keep up the version of himself he's crafted for public display.

He turns his head, a strange type of fondness pinching his chest a little harder than usual thanks to the fact that you've saved him from whatever the peaked-in-high-school-quarterback-in-the-making was droning on about. Some party Billy would dip out of at the last minute or a recap of his last game.

You're smiling at him, casual but warm. He can take your appearance in more openly now than he did this morning when you were rushing to class. You're in a tank top that's a little low cut, paired with a cardigan that seems thin for today's weather. You're also wearing a skirt that's short enough to make him wish he had insisted on picking you up this morning instead of letting you walk.

Maybe he could get you to agree to a ride home. He could suggest it casually, bring up the idea of getting something to eat after school. Today's your least favorite lunch day, so it'd be an even easier sell than usual.

"Hey," he finally says when you're close enough, keeping his tone indifferent.

You stop farther than usual, eyes darting towards the walking varsity letter. It's a shift in attention that has the potential to jab at him, but the stiffness in your demeanor keeps Billy from spiraling in that direction.

"Uh...guess what?" A rhetorical question, probably an attempt to keep yourself from seeming too excited in front of the intruder. "Ms. Johnson paired us up for group projects today and this time she was a lot less mean to me...so that's cool."

Billy can almost feel the details that he's not getting because you're not alone. It's enough to make his apathetic feelings about the unwanted third party take on a violent tinge.

He wants to hear you talk more than usual today because it forces him to be present. It makes the aggravating need for patience go down easier. "So no more cheeto fingers?"

For a brief second, Billy's feels the comment in his chest. A call back to a joke you had only made a few times awhile ago. There's a chance you won't remember. A chance he remembers more than--you laugh, it comes out quick and clearly takes you by surprise.

You clamp your mouth shut, eyes glancing to the left again. "No more cheeto fingers on my notes or on my final project. I got paired with Stephanie McDonald, who I don't know for sure won't do the same thing, but she gave me a hair tie during PE one time so she doesn't seem the type."

Billy makes a mental note of the name, not being able to recall anything specific about anyone named Stephanie, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know her. It's Woodsboro, even if he's never met her he'll be able to find out something if he needs to. "Classy."

You tilt your head, eyes briefly squinting in that way that means you're trying to decide if he's teasing you or not. "You might be making fun of me, but she didn't even let me give it back."

"Not making fun of you." He shakes his head once, keeping his expression innocent, silently promising that he could never.

"Nah, that seems nice." A new voice that has you angling your body closer to the lockers. Billy fights the instinct to glare, wondering why he didn't give the guy a reason to leave as soon as he saw you. "Johnson's AP history, right?"

You nod instinctually, a small dip of your chin Billy can't fully read. "Yeah."

Billy knows the guy well enough, but they're not exactly friends. The guy's name is somewhere in Billy's head. After a second of thinking, all he can come up with is that it probably starts with a D. Damian? Or is Damian the other football player that's in his math class and always nods at Billy in the hallway?

"Cool," varsity jacket says it in a way that makes the word feel void of its typical meaning. Billy isn't sure where he's going with it, can't remember if he's one of those self proclaimed jocks that use high school as a four year power trip or just a guy that likes football. "You tutor?" The guy tilts his head, Billy presses his nails into the skin of his palm to resist the urge to step closer to you. "'Cause I wouldn't mind learning a thing or two from you."

The blatant line is finished with a bit of a laugh. Billy wants to role his eyes--a cop out in case you reject him. A built in safety net that makes it seem like he's almost making fun of you so he can laugh off your reaction if you don't instantly drop to his feet.

Your eyebrows draw together and even though your lips are neutrally set, something about your eyes makes it feel like you're frowning. Anger or annoyance for the sake of someone else is rare, Billy doesn't know how to handle the spike of defensiveness he feels. He's used to passiveness, never caring about who's messed with.

"Ignore him," the words are out of his mouth before he can stop himself, "He has a hard enough time keeping his GPA high enough to not get benched."

Billy doesn't know how factual that dig was, but the guy's face falls enough for Billy to assume his guess was accurate enough. The satisfaction of being right is nothing compared to what he feels when he looks at you.

Your lips are still pressed together, now in a way that's more amused than sad and your eyes are wide. The comment wasn't the kind of insult that Billy finds particularly cruel or hurtful but he knew you'd find it biting. Your reaction's enough to ease the tightening feeling in his chest without fully alleviating it. He needs to get you away before the guy says something else and more of Billy's control slips.

"You seen Stu?"

Billy knows the answer. "Yeah, this morning before homeroom." You stand a little straighter, one hand gripping the strap of your backpack. "His next class is next to mine, so I'll probably see him again in a second, why?"

"Good," he mumbles, reaching into his locker and grabbing a random notebook, "Can you give his notes back to him? He needs them back before fifth period and I missed him this morning."

Not true in the slightest, Billy knows Stu will go with it anyway. "Sure." You take the notebook, fingers brushing against his. "I'll go find him. See you later."

Billy nods as you turn away, "See you."

You're now gone. The guy who can't take a hint is still there. Maybe he's waiting for some kind of apology or explanation. Billy's turning on him does seem random considering that most of their conversation has revolved around Billy placidly agreeing to whatever. Instead of bringing anything up, varsity letter laughs. Billy raises his eyebrows, silently asking what that's about.

"Look, man, I get it, she's cute." That heavy feeling that Billy's always struggling to work with rises. The dark feeling twists its way around his lungs, making it hard to breathe without giving into impulse. "But she's so...nice and school...y." Cute, nice, and school-y. Those are the adjectives he's using to describe you. Billy was right to assume his grades are suffering. "It'd be like hooking up with a middle school try hard. Not worth whatever you're putting on."

The anger grows in density, a physical force expanding in his chest in a way that borders on painful. Rationality attempts to lighten the pressure, reminding him that it's a good thing this guy doesn't want anything to do with you. Logic tries to convince him that his focus should be on hardening himself, on making this guy and everyone else think that you're just another friend to him and that he's fully committed to Sidney.

Billy shuts his locker, harder than he meant to. "Good thing she'd never fuck you then."

The last of his patience and civility has been scorched, leaving nothing but bitter ash in its place. Billy walks away, already trying to think of an excuse to find you and Stu.

----

Stu turns angles his head to the side, just enough to look at you without really looking. You're content, watching some trailer with a measured level of investment. He focuses on that as you absentmindedly extend a hand to grab a few pieces of popcorn from the bag that he's still holding.

You're happy, he's here with you, that should be enough. It's no one's fault that more people that both of you know are here than he expected. That's the hard part of Woodsboro, one slip in front of the wrong person and the rumor mill will have an exaggerated version of events spread to over half the school by the next day. The guy that glommed onto Stu the second he noticed him in the theatre definitely falls into the category of wrong person.

Jacob whatever-his-last-name-is is a try hard. He's been searching for some kind of in, some kind of leverage on anyone that seems even slightly cooler than him since middle school. This need to be bigger and better has forced him into a permanent act that even good old, 'high school stereotypes are bullshit' Randy finds off putting.

You hadn't looked particularly bothered when Jacob stood up and waved Stu over, forcing the two of you to sit closer to the center of the theatre than Stu wanted. After realizing that the screening he had expected to be empty on a Saturday afternoon was crowded, Stu wanted to sit towards the back. It was a strategic goal, it would have given him the permission to be a little more openly touchy.

Stu had to actively focus on not holding it against you. You didn't complain or give any indication of feeling ambushed because you're nice to a point of fault.

"What'd you think of that one?" Stu shrinks down in an attempt to make whispering to you easier.

Your eyes shift away from the screen and towards him. "Hm..." You're debating, analyzing, "Not as good as the one before, but it doesn't look bad." You reach forward, taking another piece of popcorn and popping it into your mouth. "You?"

Honestly, Stu had been more focused on you than the trailers, but this last one had felt like a flat attempt to balance out horror with something artsy. But the chance to get to you is more appealing than just bashing a movie with a title he can't remember. "This one is so much better than the last one."

You snap your head away from the screen. "No." He presses his lips together to keep from grinning. What do you mean 'no'? You asked for an opinion. "You just want to start an argument."

He lets out a breath that's meant to take the place of a laugh. Is he getting that predictable? That transparent? "I never want to fight with you." You narrow your eyes, skeptical. "If Billy was here, he'd agree with me."

Your lips pull together in what's almost a pout. For a second, you're quiet, one hand coming to your opposite arm, smoothing the exposed skin quickly, like you're trying to keep warm. "He wouldn't and you know it."

"Okay," Stu's voice is suspiciously innocent, "We'll call him when he gets back from that thing with his dad."

Stu knows that Billy's dad tends to keep him out until late on weekend trips to the boat. When it gets too late to fish, he likes to keep them out on the water, spewing bullshit about Billy's mom because Billy can't escape.

"What are we going to do? Describe the movies over the phone or...?"

He raises an eyebrow, shrugging and letting his shoulder bump into yours, "Sounds like you're scared."

You grin, adjusting in your seat to make it easier to cross your arms. "Fine. If it's gonna be like that, we'll call him."

You're cold. You have to be. "Told you to bring a jacket," he sighs, already unzipping his hoodie.

"I'm fine, it's--" Too late. The jacket's already off and only somewhat awkwardly being pushed onto your lap. You touch one of the sleeves, oblivious to the way Stu struggles to look at you. "C'mon, Stu, now you'll be cold."

It's said so softly, so earnestly, Stu has to fight the urge to squirm. He can never tell if the nervous energy he feels makes him want to draw you in closer or force you away.

He ignores the touch of warmth rushing to his face. "I'm good." Stu shakes his head once, almost dismissively. "Run hot," he mumbles, finally glancing at you before nudging you with his elbow, "You know that."

You roll your eyes, smiling more than you mean to as you shrug on the jacket. The fabric is warm and criminally soft. "Totally." He'd call you out on your sarcasm, but you're already pulling on the jacket. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Sure you don't want to pick up some twizzlers before the movie starts?" You pause for a second too long and Stu knows that the suggestion has hit. Your eyes had lingered on the red plastic while buying tickets even though you insisted you didn't want them after accepting the fact that Stu wasn't going to let you pay for anything.

Scratching the back of your wrist, you give in with a sigh. "Okay." You start reaching for your purse. "I'll grab some." Stu reaches into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out some cash. "Stu."

"What?" He already knows where this is going. You're always trying to pay your own way. Every once in awhile, he lets you win just so that he can justify buying you something else. This is one of those things he probably should let go, but the additional shadow has already downed his mood. "I want them more than you do."

You sigh, pulling your purse onto your lap. "I have twizzler money."

"Oh, I'm sure, but my dad left me a bunch of cash before his latest trip and you're too pretty to buy your own twizzlers." Your resolve is cracking, like you often do whenever Stu mentions his parents. "C'mon, get me some milk duds, too."

Another sigh, the sound sharper as you let go of your purse. "You are so annoying." Stu smiles at the lack of bite in your tone as you stand, finally accepting the cash and putting it into the jacket's pocket.

"You love me, I keep you supplied in twizzlers."

You gasp, jaw dropping in offense. "Asshole."

He laugh as you turn away, "Remember the milk duds."

You glare, passive aggressively setting your bag on his lap. Stu takes it, adjusting his hold on it comfortably as you walk down the aisle.

"That's a fun thing you've got going there."

Stu can feel himself immediately tense even though Jacob's comment should feel innocent enough. There's just something about the way he says it, the hint of an edge implying more. Stu should be bothered because Jacob's the kind of guy who could turn this into a story for Tatum because he wants to have something over Stu. Instead, Stu's feeling defensive over Jacob looking at you like that.

Stu shrugs, "It's just Y/n."

Jacob's eyes briefly leave the screen before refocusing. "That was friendly even by your standards."

Feeling even more defensive over you and the way he acts around you, Stu sits up straighter. "We're friends."

"Yeah," Jacob concedes, amusement in his voice that Stu doesn't quite get, "And she's turning you into a softie."

That hits him in a different way. Sure, Stu's nice to you, nicer than he is to some guy that doesn't get that no one likes him. Stu can also admit that he's touchy with you and likes taking any excuse to be close to you. But he's not soft about it.

"What?"

Jacob laughs, the sound restrained, like he's scared he'll forget where he is and give in fully. "You're cold, here's my jacket."

Stu scoffs. That wasn't--you're--whatever, it's not like Stu cares about what Jacob thinks. He'll do what he wants, treat you however he feels like. You're the only one that comes close to getting him outside of Billy, Jacob could never get that.

"Whatever, man." Stu mumbles, hoping that you'll come back before he can get too caught in his own head. The lack of aggression in his own comment surprised him and he's not sure how much longer he'll be able to keep it up.

Another preview begins to play on the screen and for a brief second, it feels like that might be the end of the conversation. "If my friends looked like that, I wouldn't mind acting like that either."

Stu tightens his grip on the arm rest. "Maybe if you didn't make everything a thing, you'd have some."

"You're the one holding her purse," Jacob mumbles, attention turning back to the screen as if that proved something.

Stu's knuckles strain white. There's nothing sensitive about the way he feels about you. It's not Stu's fault he can't pursue right now the way he wants to, and if this asshole knew half the stuff you let him get away with he wouldn't be so smug. "Fuck off."

Maybe the comment could have been played off if Stu's tone had been lighter, more relaxed. But he didn't. It landed with the same intensity a threat would, and Stu's not completely sure he didn't mean it that way.

Soft. Hard to call someone that's pulling out your insides soft. He'd have to wait for Billy to get back, talk the idea up to him and explain why someone they've tolerated on and off since middle school deserves a call. It'd be worth it, though, because should they really leave someone that talks about you like that? Why shouldn't Stu treat you in a way that's totally normal?

"Hey," you whisper, slipping back into your seat, "Guess who got the last box of milk duds." Stu's attention shifts to you, that bloody itch becoming a lot more bearable as you smile a him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he eases, "Commercials are just getting worse."

You stop tearing into the top of the box enough to look at Stu and wrinkle your nose. "I feel you." You shake out a few pieces of chocolate into your cupped palm. Stu expects you to take them, but you don't. You just extend both hands, the box and the candy you had gotten out. When Stu doesn't react, you prompt him, "Here."

Stu moves his hand, letting you spill them into his palm, the edge of your pinky briefly resting against his. The gesture is so gentle he almost feels like he's being suffocated by it. Stu takes his hand back silently. If you notice the change in his demeanor, you don't comment on it. Instead, you just take your bag back and hand him the unopened pack of twizzlers and box.

The latest commercial comes to an end and the screen fades to the start of the opening credits. "Okay," you whisper, "Last chance to predict if this movie's going to be good or not."

"I picked it," Stu says, moving his hand enough to have the milk duds roll into each other, "Why would I think that it's bad?" He's not acting normal enough, he can feel it. "Why would you come if you think it'd be bad?" A weak question, considering that Stu knows sometimes you purposefully watch the worst movies you can find for entertainment.

You don't point out that sometimes trashy movies are worth the suffering, you just shrug. "I don't know, I kinda just wanted to hang out with you."

Something in Stu's chest cracks. His face feels warmer than it did a second ago. He's not one to feel mushy or look into tone the way Billy does from time to time, but you had said it so innocently.

"Aw," he hums, finally coming back to himself, "You like me."

"Shut up," your response is immediate, "Movie's starting."

He leans down, placing a hand over the one you're laying on the arm rest. "You like me."

You roll your eyes, "Give me a twizzler."

----

He knew. Even when Stu was still insisting that they were capable of keeping it together enough to keep the circle of people small, Billy knew that the night would turn into a party.

Billy's annoyed and slowly becoming genuinely irritated thanks to the beer and pot mixing together on an empty stomach and the drowsiness that came for him with no warning. Everything feels louder now, heavier.

He shuts his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose harder than he should. Another 20 minutes, half an hour tops, and he'll get Stu to start shutting it all down.

The only good thing about nights like these is that you crash with them. You always choose to sober up at Stu's even though your mom doesn't seem like a hard ass when it comes to drinking. You still don't want her or your practical step dad seeing you drunk and you can't help that other people are smoking, which is something you've made clear your mom would kill you over.

It'll take some time getting you into bed. Unless you're drunk enough, you'll offer to sleep on the couch, like the three of you haven't justified sleepovers before. Sometimes drunk you has a tendency to get a second wind out of nowhere. If you get all hyper on him then it'll take even longer.

"Billy!" He opens his eyes and you're there.

He smiles easily, watching as you walk towards him. "Hey."

You stretch out an arm slowly, open palm gently pushing his arm. There's something sluggish about the movement and something else in the way you nearly miss him all together. Are you that drunk? Stu said he'd watch your drinks.

"Hay...is for horses," you state blankly, almost like some external force had possessed you to get the thought out coherently. And then you burst into a fit of tired giggles.

Billy presses his lips together. He knows you, knows how you get when you're not handling your alcohol. This isn't exactly that. It's more like you at the beginning of...

Ugh. You didn't--Stu didn't--With a sigh, Billy grabs your arm and glances around the room. Everyone's caught up in their world, and even though Sid's around here somewhere, there's nothing inherently suspicious about Billy checking on you. Especially while you're like this.

Still, better safe than sorry when Billy's not in the mood for self control. He tugs you forward, you follow as he leads you two to a nearby corner. You barely protest when Billy angles you so that your back's against the wall.

Billy squeezes your chin between his thumb and pointer finger, tilting your head so that you have to look him in the eye.

"Hey--" You mumble, protesting a second too late, "Oh, I just," you laugh, "--I said the horse thing."

Great. Your eyes are tinged red and considering the fact that Billy saw you take a few shots earlier...

He told you at the start of the night to pick one, and the easy decision for everyone had been for you to stick with alcohol. Drunk you can handle crowds and the general party atmosphere. High you is clingy and easily startled and usually more complicated to deal with.

Billy watches you intently. It only takes you a second to still in his hold, staring at him in a way that makes it harder to keep his edge. "You're high." It's not an accusation, it's a statement. "And drunk."

Your eyebrows pinch together briefly. It'd be easy to lie for the sake of it. "Not high," you defend weakly, "I smoked a little, but not--it wasn't that--I'm good. Not high."

He sighs, letting go of your face. "I told you to stick to one."

"You and Stu smoke and drink at the same time all the time." Billy just stares blankly. It's not a strong defense, but it's all you have. "'S'not a big deal."

Not a big deal now. Just wait until later when it's hitting you harder and tomorrow morning, when you're hungover. Then it'll be a big deal and it'll be his big deal.

"No?" You tilt your chin down in a barely there nod, trying to solidify your stance. "You do whatever you want now?"

You sigh, lips pulling downwards in a slight pout. "It's not like that."

"Who gave it to you?"

Your eyes won't meet his. "I don't--" You cut yourself off, still aware enough that trying to hide things at this point is the quickest way to make things take a turn for the worst right now. "Stu let me use his--a little--but it wasn't like that. It was only a little."

Yeah, considering how red your eyes are and how much slurring and concentration it took for you to get through that, Billy really doubts it was as little as you're trying to convince him. "You're going to feel sick tomorrow."

To be fully honest, you can see that, a tiny bit of off-ness already starting to pull at the edge of your current buzz. You also don't love the way the usual giddiness of alcohol is blending with the easy uncertainty of your high. But Billy doesn't need to know that right now.

"'M okay." True enough, since you're not actively spiraling, "But I believe you."

He hasn't eased and a part of you is now starting to feel bad. You know you're not the easiest person to deal with when you're like this, but you also don't think you've done anything particularly annoying. His sour mood is starting to make what's wrong about your buzz feel magnified. Yeah, Billy told you to stick to one thing but he didn't make it sound like it was a big deal to him.

You swallow once, ignoring how dry your mouth feels. "C'mon." Billy's still close, within grabbing distance. The second you realize that it'd be easy to touch him, you reach out and place a hand on his arm. "Don't be mad."

He tenses under your touch, but you don't move your hand away. "Thought we didn't listen to each other." You half-sigh-half-groan as you drop your forehead against Billy's chest. He doesn't push you off, which has to be a good sign.

Billy places a palm on your back, rubbing soothing circles against the fabric of your shirt. "Let's get some water."

That feels okay enough, so you straighten, nodding once. "Okay."

He keeps a hand on your back, leading you back towards the main area of the party and into the kitchen. You're quiet as you walk, instinctually following Billy without question.

"Hey, I was looking for you--" Stu cuts himself off as soon as he sees Billy's expression. "You guys good?"

You nod placidly, "'M good, he's--"

"You gave her some?"

Stu holds his hands up in defense, "She was begging for it."

Begging is definitely an exaggeration. You want to explain, to defend the situation and take just enough blame to keep the peace without making yourself look like the bad guy. The words jam themselves in your head, twisting until they're in such a knot that all you can manage to get out is, "Nuh-uh."

Stu turns to glare at you, "So when I'm the bad guy it's all 'please' and 'I thought we were best friends' and 'it'll be our secret' but the second it goes a little bad you run to Bill--"

"Didn't run," you defend, but it doesn't matter, it's like you didn't say anything.

"You told her not to tell me?"

"No." The single syllable is so urging you can almost imagine that the question sobered him up. "I didn't say that."

There's a weird wave of tension between them, so thick and tangible a small part of you can't believe that the rest of the party continued, unaffected. You get why Stu snapped back to normal so quickly. "Guys," you try, even though you have no idea where you're going with this, "I just--I asked--asked like a lot--but I didn't beg. And it's--" You squeeze your eyes shut, really wishing you had been better at hiding your high. "It's not worth fighting over." Squinting your eyes open, you cross your arms across your stomach, hoping it'll make you seem more awake. "I love you guys, 'm good, let's just chill out for a second."

Billy and Stu both blink, exchanging a look that you don't get. You know you wouldn't get it if you were sober, either. It's one of their moments, a silent exchange you can't imagine anyone else ever getting.

Stu breaks the silence with a laugh. "She's way more out of it than I thought." You glare at that, not finding anything funny in what you said. You were nice, you diffused the tension. They're such assholes. And you always hate when they talk about you like you're not right there.

You glare. Maybe ditching them's still an option. They'd eventually accuse you of pouting, but there's a chance it'd be worth the future teasing. You could find Sid and Tate again, hang out until you calmed down.

"Aw," Stu hums, reaching for you, "She's pouting."

You push at the hand on your shoulder, too tired and distracted to be good at getting him off of you. "Am. Not." Stu squeezes harder. Normally, that'd just get you to fight back more openly, but now your stomach feels tight and things are starting to feel too warm. "Stu, knock it off--I'm nauseous."

Billy presses his hand against your back, the pressure comforting. "Give her a minute."

Stu lets go but makes a point of staying close. "You okay, sweetheart?"

Nodding slowly, you focus on feeling the words coming out of your mouth. "Yeah, yeah."

"You need to step out? Get some air?"

You shake your head once. You're okay, stable. "I'm good."

Billy's hand moves up and down your back gently. "You need to drink water."

The fighting risk is gone now. You should be completely happy, but the conflict rubbed you the wrong way and you're starting to feel like you might need space from them. "I kinda want to look for Sidney and Tatum."

"C'mon, cutie." Stu takes your hand gently, squeezing it softly. "Don't be like that." You're torn between arguing that you're not being like anything and telling them that they started it. "Do what you want, but no one's going to want to put up with you like this."

The comment stings more than it should. It's been mentioned before, that you're the the lightweight, the one that can't handle their substances and takes over without meaning to. Never cruelly, but it still hurts. "Mean."

"Not that mean," Stu pulls on your hand, "Because you love us."

You roll your eyes, hating past you for letting that come out. "Not right now."

Stu starts walking forward, you follow without complaining. "Don't say things you don't mean."

Billy's stays close as you walk, one hand on your back as you're guided to the kitchen. There are some people lingering around the fridge and the bar, but it's a lot less crowded than the main living room.

You stop at the island counter, moving to push yourself onto it with no warning. It takes Billy less than a second to pick up on what you want, he keeps a hand on your waist to stabilize you as you sit.

"Here." Stu hands you a glass filled with ice water.

You take a few long sips before setting it down next to you.

"Better?" It worked a little too well, and a part of you hates them for it. You reluctantly nod. "Told you."

More like Billy told you, but you're not opening that up again.

A small half-scoff-half-laugh snaps the three of you out of your bubble. Stu turns his head towards a semi-familiar blonde holding a beer bottle, "What?"

"Nothing." The voice is also familiar. A girl named Marley that used to hang around freshman year. "Just remembering the first time I got high and freaked out, you told me to get it together."

You crane your neck to look at the stranger, unsure if her comment's meant to attack Stu or you. "I'm not freaking out."

"Yeah," Stu defends, placing a comforting hand on your knee, "It's just water, Marley, if that's an issue, go be bitter somewhere else."

The girl scoffs, "Not bitter, just different."

You soften a little at that. Maybe she hadn't meant to come off as that hostile.

Stu shrugs, "I've grown." You watch the exchange curiously, wondering how well they know each other. There's a chance they met in kindergarten or on the first day of middle school or in some random sophomore class. Sometimes living in a small town that you didn't grow up in is the constant fear of becoming a third wheel in a matter of seconds. "In more ways than one."

Marley pretends to scoff, "Yeah, I'm out." She holds her hands up in a display of surrender before walking away.

"You know she used to be obsessed with me."

There's a 50-50 chance he's exaggerating. A more sober, more adjusted you would be able to make an educated guess, but right now you can't and for whatever reason that twists your stomach. You reach for your glass, taking a few sips to stabilize yourself.

"He's delusional," Billy corrects, voice so low you think you might be the only one that hears it. "She used to hang around, mainly for Sidney and Tatum, but never stuck." You nod absentmindedly. "No one else did before you."

The comment is small, muttered like saying it felt like pulling teeth. You smile regardless, way more warmed by it than you should be. Billy finally looks back at you. For a second, you let yourself openly watch him. A wave of casual drowsiness hits you with no warning, so you lean forward, resting your forehead against Billy's shoulder.

"You okay, angel?" Stu places a hand on your back. "Jealousy making you feel a little sick?"

You let out a breath that's almost a laugh as you force yourself to straighten. "You're right," you look at Billy, "He is delusional."

"Hey," Stu makes a point of poking you in the shoulder, "Don't be mean."

"You're right, I'm totally obsessed with you and--" A yawn breaks your sentence into two, "Close to bursting into jealous rage."

Stu's fingertips brush up and down your arm. "You're staying over, right?"

You nod, "Mhm, if that's okay."

He almost rolls his eyes. You're always prone to formality, always wanting to make sure that you're not bothering anyone. "I'd never kick you out of bed, sweetheart." You try to glare at him, but you're too tired to seem bothered. "You should go lay down for a little, I'm going to start kicking people out."

Hm. You are tired, but you never like being the first to go, the first to head upstairs and be left alone. You're about to protest, insist that you're fine when Billy speaks up, "I'll go, too." Billy straightens, holding out a hand to help you hop off the counter. "Over it."

You take his hand, getting off the counter with minimal complications. Billy moves an arm around your shoulder, deciding that that'd be the quickest way to help you get to the stairs.

#final girl fic #scream x reader #scream 1996 #stu macher x reader #stu macher #billy loomis #billy loomis x reader #ghostface #poly! ghostface #ghostface x reader #poly!ghostface x reader

[ozzgin]

[Baki Masterlist]

Yandere! Kaiou Retsu x Artist! Reader

You open the door to the Shinshinkai Dojo and greet some of the men in the hall with a nod.

"You're here earlier than usual." One of them comments as you pass by.

"Yeah, the last lecture was cancelled and I had no other plans", you respond with a smile.

"You know it's getting serious when your free time is turned into training time. That's how it was for me!" the man lets out a hearty laugh.

"No way, I'm not made for this." You wave your hand in dismissal. "I'm just going with the flow and seeing where that takes me."

You go on your way, ruminating over the brief exchange. It's been a few months since you began taking karate lessons at the Dojo. You still remember Katsumi's perplexed expression as you stood before him, handing over the sign up papers.

"A-are you sure? The sparring can get quite rough and you're... well... uh..."

"You advertise it as perfect for self defense. Who needs it more, the buff pal over there or this short college student that can't even sketch in the park without being harassed by perverts?"

You slap the papers on the table with a loud thud. The man blushes slightly, realizing the irony.

"I apologize. You're entirely right." He scans over the form. "Evening classes. That's when I teach, actually! Looking forward to seeing you, then."

After the first few weeks of mostly standard workout in order to build stamina, you started learning the basics. Katsumi was greatly surprised and equally impressed by your unexpected skill. Turns out you weren't half bad at this! And so he suggested you show up more often, because he wanted to see how your newly discovered talent would develop in time.

As thankful as you are for his support, you find the whole ordeal rather funny. You don't have any intention of becoming some professional fighter. You're an artist and plan to remain one for the indefinite future. The little karate hobby serves as your dose of healthy activity and as the occasional inspiration, since you particularly enjoy recreating the human body and its intricacies on paper or in clay.

"Oh, (Y/N)!" Katsumi spots you and gestures for you to come over. Your nostalgic daydreaming has been interrupted. "Remember when I said that it helps to expand your knowledge? I have just the person for that." He places a hand on your back and guides you further into one of the main rooms.

"Here she is, Retsu-san. You might not believe it at first, neither did I, but I guarantee you she has a lot of potential."

You bow slightly to the stranger in front of you and he silently returns the gesture. He seems mildly awkward about the encounter.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I follow. What is this about?" you ask, somewhat confused. The deep stare of the long haired man intimidates you, so you avoid it by throwing quick glances at Katsumi instead.

"Would you be interested in learning Chinese Kenpo? This is Kaiou Retsu. He'll be joining us at the Dojo for a while. I thought you could use some variety."

"Shouldn't you be asking him if he's willing to teach rookies like me?" you wonder if this poor man had his services offered against his will.

"It is my great pleasure to spread the knowledge of this ancient art. I only ask that you treat it with respect and don't take it lightly." Retsu straightens his back and looks ahead, in no particular direction.

Ah, how embarrassing. He can't even look at her properly. He wishes he could drag Katsumi out in the hallway and whack some common sense into him. The least he could've done was to let him know who to expect.

Obviously he's seen women before. He's been out of the temple for a long time now. So why is he acting so strange all of a sudden? Katsumi was very secretive about his new favorite student and refused to give him any details besides "you won't regret it". He anticipated anything but this. He's especially baffled at his own reaction meeting (Y/N).

All he can do now is to pray that he isn't so obvious in just how flustered this woman has gotten him. He wonders if Katsumi went through the same nervousness when he first met you. He secretly peeks at the young man and notices how relaxed he seems to be next to you. Yeah, perhaps he just needs a little time. Then he can treat you with the same confidence, too.

***

"What matters the most here is actually the placement of the foot. If it's slightly tilted the wrong way, you lose all support and everything else falls apart. A good kick needs an equally good grounding."

Retsu is in his comfort zone. For a mere moment, he can forget his audience and focus on his technique. This is what he does best. Still concentrated, he unbuttons his shirt and throws it aside, as this is how he usually fights.

"Find the weak point depending on your opponent's stance, and quickly make your move before they've got it figured out."

He demonstrates the attack, followed by a few skillful jumps as he returns to his initial spot. He checks to see if you've been following his instructions, a prideful smile plastered on his face. Your eyes are wide, mouth slightly open in shameless marvel. His smile immediately vanishes and is replaced by an embarrassed frown. Why are you looking at him like that? It's one of the most basic moves he can think of.

You suddenly clap your hands together and lower your head in a begging posture. The way his body bends and folds in such a fluid, continuous way, the way his muscles contract rhythmically in a calculated vigor... This man is not only a master of martial arts, but your newly found muse.

"Please excuse my rudeness, but I really can't think of a better way to put it. Might I be allowed to sketch you during your training? I really wish I could capture your artistry."

You shyly glance up, worried you may have angered the Chinese man. He's covering his face with one hand and you tense up, unsure of how to proceed. Should you apologize? Then you manage to discern the deep blush that's taken over his face.

He must calm down at once. He's inhaling deeply, attempting to regulate his breathing. He can feel the vibration of his heart slamming into his chest at great speed. Truly, how happy your words made him. And this brings him to the abrupt realization that he will never be like Katsumi around you.

It's been a little under a month since he's met you, and the slightest interaction coming from you makes his whole composure collapse into shambles. All the feelings and thoughts are now avalanching over, burying him and making him unable to let a single word out. It could very well be that he's in love with you, but it's a frightful, rabid adoration that trickles out of his grasp, as if it could escape from his control at any moment. It's a terrifying discovery for someone that so values their discipline.

"If it's too troublesome, you can forget about it. I got too excited. To be honest, I've been using you as a reference for some time now, but it felt wrong not to tell you about it."

You crouch down to your backpack and hesitantly pull out a notebook with pages sticking out. You peel open the covers and spread some of the papers onto the ground, for a better view.

Retsu squats down with you and gazes over the detailed pencil works, partly distracted. He'd appreciate your anatomical accuracy if it wasn't for his presently feverish state. He places your hands between his and analyzes them. What a difference. Dainty, fragile and yet powerful enough to win Katsumi's respect. Nonetheless of insignificant size compared to his large, calloused and weathered palms. To think that you've been watching him the same way he's been watching you all this time. Perhaps for somewhat different reasons. How would you react if you knew? What would you think of someone like him?

"Umm..." you swallow dryly as you attempt to break the silence. You can almost hear a faint ringing in your ears.

What if you were to reject his confession? It wouldn't be the first time he's faced defeat. Retsu is however unsure if he'd be willing to accept it this time. He looks at you with newly found resolve. No matter what, he'll do what it takes to become a man worthy of your love. If only he could remain your inspiration forever.

#baki #baki the grappler #retsu kaioh #baki x reader #kaiou retsu #retsu x reader #yandere #yandere baki

[duplicitywrites]

Cindle (@cindle-writes) is someone I cannot say enough lovely things about! I want to give a special thank you to Cindle for all of her amazing Mutuals March posts with this shoutout dedicated especially to her. 💜

I think it's safe to say Cindle has quickly established herself as a pillar of the Tomarrymort community, whether it be to cheerlead, beta, or simply enable those in our little corner of fandom. Not only that, Cindle consistently writes some of the most amazing fics in a wide range of characters, ships, and tropes -- providing us with delicious smut that often includes an amazing plot twist as the cherry on top!

Long story short, Cindle never ceases to amaze me with her dedication to this fandom, both as a talented author and a supportive friend. Her enthusiasm makes this space a better one!

Cindle, thank you for all that you do! We appreciate you so very much. 💜🛐 To celebrate you, here are a few favourite works of yours chosen by some of your friends!

☪ complete (Tom / Harry) E | 8.7k | Complete | Underage

Everything about this fic is perfect! There are so many yummy angst pieces of young Tom’s sad orphan backstory that are reflected in his (manipulative) interactions with Harry, and it meshes so beautifully with Harry's initial polite treatment of him as they get to know each other. Of course, the 'strangers' aspect speedruns right into 'lovers' once Harry realizes his newly-adopted baby Dark Lord is actually an omega. The ensuing smut is 👏🏼🥵🔥💯😈 !! I go absolutely feral for this dynamic and this fic delivers on every count.

☪ dawn of a death of a dream (Tom / Harry) E | 53.8k | On-Going | No Archive Warnings Apply

This story demonstrates just how patient a young Tom Riddle was when it came to achieving his goals, and I just love how even with Harry being so certain Tom manages to capture him in his own messy web. We get mind games between enemies who often forget they are enemies, and allow their positive feelings for each other to shine through in a bid to trap the other using their intimate relationship. So fun & silly & WAIT WHAT?? 💜💜💜 ( this blurb written by Apples! 🍎)

☪ Everything Green Is Gold (Tom / Harry) E | 21.3k | On-Going | Underage

BABY HARRY BELOVED! Professor Riddle takes first year Harry under his wing and teaches him sooo many things 😏🍆. Cindle really outdid herself on this story -- Tom is super manipulative with everything he does, but he is also so attentive with Harry in the process that even though we know what's happening, we're liable to... forget. Just a little 🤏. A million kudos for such a hot and realistic depiction 🔥!!

☪ in bad faith (Voldemort / Harry, Cedric / Harry) E | 2.9k | Complete | Non-Con, Underage

This fic builds on an already fantastic premise -- an AU of GoF where Voldemort captures Cedric (and Harry!) -- and expands it to include even more angst! The smut is delicious and the plot twist at the end had me going insane. Without spoiling too much, I will say I love the aspects of the original dynamic surrounding Cedric, Harry, and Voldemort that are incorporated into this glorious mindfuck continuation.

☪ i’ve missed you, my boy (Tom / Harry) E | 1.9k | Complete | Underage

One of the BEST plot twists I have ever read! Harry’s complex relationship with Voldemort is done so well in this post-war AU. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the reread value of this fic is incredible -- in the brief span of a few thousand words, we get so much character insight and build up to a truly incredible reveal. It is a delight going back and picking out all the details that lends to just how deeply messed up and multilayered this relationship is!

☪ last rites (Scarcrux / Harry) E | 5.1k | Complete | Major Character Death

Such a HOT fic. Scarcrux knows all of Harry's deepest, darkest secrets -- including just how he likes to get off. Watching Harry's resistance crumble in the face of Tom's careful seduction is one of my favourite dynamics in this ship! And BOTTOM TOM is the whipped cream hat on this perfect PWP parfait. 💜🔥 We deserve more fics like this one, where Tom gets what he wants!

☪ the dark passenger (Al / Harry, Tom / Harry) E | 5k | Complete | Non-Con, Underage

Cindle's next-gen writing is a huge part of why I have any interest at all in those characters, and this story is a great example of why! In this fic, we navigate Al's co-dependent relationship with Harry as his loving father and (though he doesn't know it!) his fated enemy. The merging of Al and Tom's personalities is so well done and elevates both ship aspects of the story, as well as seeing Harry through the lens of Al-with-Tom, in such a unique way!

#tomarry #harrymort #tomarrymort #fic rec

[astral-from-afar]

Tokusatsu influences in Blue Period

Okay many people may not know but Magender in Blue Period is a reference to Tokusatsu, specifically Kamen Rider. I just want to spend my time going through some panels and just add a few fun facts as a fan of both shows.

Here is a brief rundown of Kamen Rider

It’s a long running TV show starting from the 1970s where a superhero who rides a motorcycle fight supervillains in order to protect Earth and their loved ones. When the franchise began they usually had an insect motif but has expanded in the last few decades to experiment with new ideas. There are 33 series currently and are split up into 3 eras (Showa, Heisei and Reiwa) based on the different monarchs who ruled over Japan at the time. There are other details but all you need to know is that it is pretty big series in Japan and has been making waves internationally.

First is the episode count. Usually kamen rider seasons shows last around 47-52 episodes on average however some can be as little as 31 episodes (kamen rider decade) and some can be as long as 98 episodes ( the original kamen rider series). The reasoning behind the episode count is that it runs all year round only a weekly basis. It starts from September and ends in August with a few breaks throughout the year.

Another staple in the kamen rider and tokusatsu medium as a whole is the transformation belt or “Henshin belt”. This is used by the main character to transform into their superhero form and they often cry out “Henshin” (transform in Japanese) as well as their catchphrase. As seen below Magender’s catchphrase is: Eliminate evil and illuminate truth.

Furthermore Henshin belts are one of the most successful pieces of merchandise in Kamen Rider due to it iconicness with each new rider having their own unique belt. Another piece of merchandise would be the helmet which Meguro wore in chapter 45. Both can be pretty expensive so I feel for Yatora ( i want one so bad as well)

Last bits I want to go over is what Takada said in chapter 51. The demographic in Tokusatsu has always gone towards young kids, mainly boys. However there have been interesting incidences where a kamen rider series is watched by a different demographic, adult women. This phenomenon was not only due to mothers having to understand the plot of kamen rider for their children but because they found the main lead handsome.

This caused the widely known ‘Odagiri effect’ (named after the lead actor in Kamen Rider Kuuga) which wikipedia states that “A program attracts a larger than expected number of female viewers because the program stars attractive male actors or characters”

This doesn’t mean all women watch kamen rider for the handsome characters of course but this caused a large shift in how actors were recruited which still happens in the present day

The last comment about the relationship between the two male characters is quite an often take when it comes to the two male leads of the series. The tension caused by the two and their subsequent interactions as they learn to bond over the 50 episodes causes many fans to speculate if their bonds go beyond ‘friendship’. I could name many incidents in almost all series that are homoerotic but it is rare to have anything confirmed. To add fuel to the fire it isn’t uncommon to see actors of a particular kamen rider series to go onto starring in BLs which has lead to several memes by kamen rider fans.

Okay so that’s all. I’m very happy if anyone read this far and I hope this gave a bit of an insight on the Tokusatsu medium through the lens of Magender as I love Kamen rider and Blue Period to bits. I’ve barely seen anyone talk about it online so I just wanted to dedicate a long post about it. Have a great day :D

#Blue period #yatora yaguchi #Blp meguro #Takada #kamen rider #tokusatsu

[red-dyed-sarumane]

@musicalisotope hi im going to. make this a post instead of a reply sorry i have a lot to say on this.

aru sekai is a really. obtuse series. none of its going to make much sense on its own. if it does i need u to share ur brain with me. anyway,

i think if u want to start anywhere i'd say either aru sekai shoushitsu, marshall maximizer, or laboratory.

aru sekai shoushitsu is the very first song its really long & theres so much in it & it sounds like nonsense by itself, however its a pretty complete summary of the whole plot. if u get lost once u hit the fuu lines & after dont worry about it we dont have the context for those yet. it's a lot to take in but once u move onto the other songs it all starts to click together like oh shit thats what that meant. it IS a lot tho. its also the most objective song of all of them; the rest are very subjective to their respective characters' views

marshall maximizer is of course the most popular song but thats not why im saying it. im saying it because it's the first time the concept of losing one's self/ego is really expanded on & thats a very very big part of the narrative. the lyrics it might be harder to pick up on that but the text in the background talks about it in a more direct way. its subjective to the chara's pov but it does a good job of establishing that "person" vs "thing"(no longer a person) concept. important to note this character is only an observer of that.

laboratory is similar its that same major concept of those who are still "people" vs those who arent any more. the difference here being its her experience as she crossed the line between the two. its a lot more direct than the other songs & its pretty easy to see the whole weight of the scenario & because of that it really helps put the severity of the other songs into place.

as for the others theyre very subjective & its a little harder to figure out whats going on. but in short kyuuyaku hankagai establishes its not just a personal risk & its a very long repeating event, shuuen touhikou is mostly to answer the question "well what if they gave up & didn't face the problem", oumen mokushiroku is overall that its pointless to take huge risks to themselves beyond the obvious, unplanned apoptosis is actually showing how the "doing things for yourself will save you" concept works, kanon gets into how precise their work has to be to get anywhere among other things, kugutsu ashura is a wall of words idk why u would ever start there its also weird bc she doesnt seem to be affiliated with the rest of them? an outsider forced to endure the consequences i think. i still have to dissect this one more for sure, & the new one yamete kudasai is kind of similar to laboratory but it shows more of the reasons people are pushed to the point of losing themselves.

there are. a LOT of very small easy to overlook details across all the songs. theres no one way to progress through the story since all the songs build off each other & show off different aspects of the plot & world they live in. & u also have to take into account not all of them are reliable narrators (im staring at the unplanned apoptosis girl in particular). theres also a LOT of details we still need expanded on to get the full picture but i think we're going to get more side context songs before magu moves onto to the fuu song to continue the order in aru sekai shoushitsu. the text in the background of songs that have it is also a major part of the story u cant just skip over it if you're trying to figure out whats going on. (this includes kanon. the original tweet with the decode was taken down but i still have the text saved.... somewhere. i will get that for anyone that wants it. very brief but it gives a glimpse of what the start of a retry looks like as well as why theyre in the situation in the first place)

VERY few people keep up with it as a series most people i see just think the songs sound good & leave it at that so i dont blame u if u do the same but its a very intricate story if u have the time & patience to work it out

also small side note magu's said all the charas have names but theyre a secret until later so they have to have some relevance with whats going on. it'll be a very interesting reveal for sure. we think theres 2 names in aru sekai shoushitsu (saginuma hisame & layla) but we dont know for sure who they are or if theyre even any of the girls in the songs. (best guess is the the shoushitsu chara & kyuuyaku chara respectively). thats not super important to know rn tho. also aru sekai series is a fan given name based on the first song since magu has never once talked about the contents of the series outside of what we get in the songs. (unless directly asked but theyre vague in their answers)

#musicalisotope #aru sekai series #i wish this was an anime could u imagine if we had more art of these girls. any of them #ESPECIALLY the angel in oumen mokushiroku she only has one official art it saddens me greatly. #id be the most annoying person on the planet if there was more #i really sincerely hope magu gives us novels for these. i need that kind of elaboration on some things for real #im getting off topic anyway itd a lot of back & forth if ur trying to figure anything out. #start with ur favorite i guess. #i wouldnt recommen unplanned apoptosis or kugutsu ashura as an intro tho. thats all #SORRY FOR. SUCH A LONG ANSWER. i have over 2 year invested in figuring this out i have. so much to say about this series i love it dearly #i was doing a very dissection of the while series at the beginning of the year but retranslating shoushitsu gave me a headache #so i still need to go back to that....... #i can talk a lot more about the series but 1) idk if anything counts as spoilers. no clue how to determine that since its not really linear #and 2) this is long enough i think u just wanted a brief answer im so sorry

[theshatteredrose]

How do you get these wonderful stories out of your head? When I play RPGs like Disgaea and Eterian Odyssey, I have stories I wanna write but when I turn the game off they're gone! Do you have any wisdom on how to weave daydreams into reality?

Oooh boy~ Ok, let’s see…

The first thing, the absolute first thing you must do when you get an idea for a story is to write it down. I cannot stress this enough. Please, write it down somewhere. Do not fall into the trap of “I’ll remember this, I won’t need to write it down.” We authors always fall into this trap. You will forget. We always forget.

Write it down in a notepad. Write it down somewhere on your phone. Write it down in an email or text. Write your ideas, big and small, down somewhere.

Start that habit first. Keep the ideas brief and to the point. Write them as a synopsis. Write them as a summary.

Alright. So, you have all these ideas. Now what? Taking the next step can seem daunting. So, let’s keep it simple. Look over your ideas. Any that catch your immediate attention? Any that seem fun or exciting to do? Let’s start with that one.

Take the idea that you like. And then expand on it. Add characters. Add a setting. Who is the protagonist? What are their motives? What drives them? What is the plot of the story? What is driving the plot forward? What is the goal? Who or what is the Antagonist? What are their motives and motivations?

Don’t get bogged down with the details. Keep things simple and to the point. We’re still in the planning stages.

Next, it’s time to figure out the timeline of events. How does the story begin? What are the objectives that the Main Characters need to reach throughout the story? What are the key plot scenes you want the story to entail? What is the end goal? What would you like the ending to be? Again, keep things simple and to the point. This is what happens and then this is what happens next. We’re still in the planning stages.

Please note that your story has the possibility to change during these planning stages. What you had in mind at the beginning can change. And that’s perfectly fine. It’s about the flow. Sometimes your story and characters will lead you in a new direction. One you hadn’t considered before. Happened with me more times than I can count. And it’s always for the better.

Ok, so you have your story figured out. Now comes the next big hurdle – writing details.

This step is where a lot of people fall short. Writing fleshed out characters, writing them in scenes, writing dialogue, writing their thoughts and actions. It can feel overwhelming. So, let’s just take it slowly. The first draft is always abysmal. No one ever, ever finishes a pristine novel on their first draft. If they claim otherwise, they’re lying. The first draft is just getting a feel of the story and of the characters. Does this scene fit here? Does this event help or hinder the story? Do I need to explain more of the lore?

The first draft is never, ever perfect, so go into it with this mindset. Fumble your way through it. Add dialogue here. Add a fight scene there. Oh, this scene needs a new character? Well, in you go!

And you don’t have to start from the beginning. Start working on a scene from the middle of the story. Start working on that exciting battle scene. Start working on that amazing plot twist that no one saw coming. I wrote one of my stories by first working on that final battle scene and then worked around it. You don’t have to work from the beginning.

There is one other thing you must do in order to get your story done. You must write. You must work on it every day. It can be for five minutes. It can be for only a hundred words. But you must find the time in your day to work on your project. Little by little, a sentence here and a sentence there, your project will get done.

We writers a such fickle little creatures. We can get disheartened easily or get distracted with other shiny new projects. So, remember, each day you choose to write, no matter the form, be it a new idea or the working of a new project, is a day you should be proud of yourself.

Everything I’ve written above is my personal method of writing. It’s not perfect and it may not be for everyone. It’s merely advice I offer from the heart, guidance to help you find your own way as a writer. To find your own method. Seek guidance from others, but ultimately find a path that is suited for your own needs and interests. Test the waters and experiment, fumble your way through exploration and soon your will find your own rhythm.

I hope I was able to answer your question ^^

#author ramblings #writing advice

[lightlycareless]

First, it hurts— [side story]: When Hitomi met Naohiko.

Depictions of brief sucession mentioned on the main story, First, it hurts—, a Naoya Zen'in x Reader fic, which you can find here! (totally recommend reading that first :>)

Summary: While Hitomi and you were working on fixing a few garments, Naohiko makes a sudden appearance. You fully expect him to be insufferable, as he often is, leading you to fear for Hitomi's safety. You'd be soon surprised, however, that not only is she capable of handling herself, but that he's also perceptive to her words.

You inevitably believe there is more than what meet's the eye, Hitomi refuses profusely—but reality begs to differ.

Chapter warnings: none :> except that Naohiko is a jerk and Hitomi is a tsundere. Who would've guessed?

A/N: Now this... is a side story I would've neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer imagine writing in a thousand years. I mean, it was just so out of the nowhere, and yet, it made sense. hehe. At least for me 😅🤭This succession was referenced over here, in chapter 29 :>

I enjoyed expanding a bit more on Haruko, Hitomi, and somewhat Naohiko. Their characters tend to get a bit lost in the great scheme of things, so it was definitely refreshing to write this piece of fluff haha. Also, I'm going to write their character profiles and whatnot, I'm just having a rough time with them cause goddam… I haven't even planned most of their background, or at least in a detailed matter 😂 Will let you know when that happens.

Also, I have some extra notes at the end of the chapter over at the ao3 version; I don't usually like putting notes at the end in tumblr's format so... hehe. Just letting you know if you want to read them :>

As always, reblogs, likes and comments are always appreciated ❤❤ Happy reading!

Ao3 link.

In more ways than one, Haruko considered this to be her first official job. 

Didn’t mean she wasn’t aware of what duties looked like —given the rough circumstances of her upbringing, that’s all she’d ever known— but it was the first time she was given one that came with rather handsome benefits: such as a permanent residence (even though it wasn’t hers per say, it was still infinitely better than moving from one inn to the other) daily warm food (the days of wondering what she’s going to eat are nothing but a distant memory) and most importantly, a hefty paycheck that will not only help support her, but her family as well. 

That last being the most important point of them all, always has been, but even more so as of lately due to a newest addition! That being a beautiful baby girl, born just a few months before getting this job. In other words, another little sister to dote on!

Haruko knows very well she doesn’t have much of a say in what her and Hitomi’s money is being used on once in their mother’s hands, but she at least hopes it’s going towards adorable clothes for her baby sister, as well as professional photoshoots and postage for them to see!

Unfortunately, as expected from a workplace, those would be the only privileges she would get. And all that she had to do to conserve them was one simple thing, what she was hired for: cook.

Cooking was a skill that, if her memory served her well, she was always naturally inclined to. It was both the easiest and tastiest way to distract her and those around her, from their hash reality—oh, how she loathed the times she wasn’t able to indulge in it. 

Thanks to her consistency, she polished her skills enough to be rightfully recognized as talented, and what started as a hobby soon became a profession, landing her an opportunity at the prestigious Zen’in estate. 

Haruko, as excited she was for this change of course, she was also… concerned, for she wasn’t given a single piece of information about them or their lifestyle, or even an example of the work environment she was going to be in (She already had a basic idea due to her allegedly being hired on the spot, which for many this hinted a terrible background. But Meiko, the housekeeper, refuses to admit such accusations), only that she was to “obey their every whim” and that was it. 

This only made her intrigue for her new employers grow bigger and bigger, but upon realizing Meiko wasn’t to give her anything else outside her duties, she resorted to filling in the blanks herself: the Zen’in were rich. Like, rich rich. Stupidly so, evident by lavishness that suffocated her throughout the extensiveness of their property on her first tour around the estate.

«What an unexpected twist of events! I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see a mansion like this one!» she mused as she observed the thousands of luxuries she’s never even heard of in her life «It’s like straight out of a fairy tale!» 

Either way, that topic would be something that she’d grow accustomed to with due time, quickly escaping her curiosity in favor of adapting to her new life and job.

Kind of. As much as she wanted to do that… she found it incredibly difficult to do so. Because it’s only here that she realized there was a vast difference when it came to doing what she wanted, when she wanted and how she wanted it, to what others expected from her—The love and joy she once had for her hobby soon turned into a tedious nightmare, not even her favorite thing to do while cooking, which was getting a sample of whatever she’s preparing at the moment, was to save her from Zen’in regulations.

Haruko would, unfortunately, find out the hard way.

“What are you doing?!” Meiko shrilled as soon as she saw Haruko take a spoonful of the soup before her and take it near her mouth. Even if it was taken from a different spoon from the one she was using, an action performed under the most sanitary conditions, the housekeeper still labeled her actions as the highest of transgressions—she might as well spit on the kettle itself! “Drop what you’re doing, immediately!”

“Wh—what?!” Haruko cried, wide eyes and skin pale as she swirled in the direction of the piercing voice, all while continuing to carefully blow on the hot sample she managed to sneak moments prior—completely oblivious to the incriminating nature of her actions “What’s going on?!”

“What do you mean what’s going on?” The older woman scowled as she stomped her way towards the young cook, her fiery gaze showing an unwavering determination of snatching the spoon out of her hand.

Which Haruko had intercepted as soon as it present itself, consequentially forcing her to plunge the utensil into her mouth before the woman was even able to grasp her arm, caring less that the liquid was still boiling hot and swiftly swallowing its contents, much to Meiko’s shrieking dismay, who couldn’t do anything but allow her mouth to fall wide open as she observed blatant disrespect occurring before her “WHAT?! You—You spit it out! Spit it out, now!”

“It’s—I was just—” Haruko stammers as Meiko proceeds to harshly grab her by the shoulders and rattle her, as if trying to induce her into throwing up, which no matter how hard she tried, she would not relent—cause even if she was caught in the act, she’d be damned to waste perfectly good food!  “Stop! I was just trying it! To see if it’s good!”

“Oh, no. I don’t think you’re just trying it! I’ve watched you for a while—you see? I’ve seen how you made it a habit to pick on the food whenever you think no one is seeing” Meiko bickered “I thought I made it clear when I hired you—the food is for the master’s only, not for commoners like you! Ah, why can’t you be more like your sister? At least she knows not to meddle in things that are not her business!”

In that way, Haruko was never, truly, like her sister. 

Ever since a young age it had been blatantly obvious that she and her sister were, although physically similar, contrastingly different.

Hitomi, even when she was the youngest of the two (not anymore) was always the calm, observant, rational, non-intrusive one. The one that committed to any given instruction, down to the smallest details, and without complaint—even exceeding expectations.

So it wasn’t surprising to hear that she’d adapted well to the Zen’in estate and its innerworkings—Haruko couldn’t recall a moment where anyone complained about her, contrary to her of course, whom the housekeeper seemed to have a personal vendetta against.

But in that matter, she can’t say she’s envious of her sister, because thanks to her continuous commitment Hitomi has been dumped with nothing but layers and layers of work—on her on words:

“From simple stitches to straight up making new garments—there’s not a moment of tranquility for myself! You’d think I’m the only seamstress here!”

The last thing she knew of her sister’s tasks was her tending the clothes of the small… army? Or whatever they were (Haruko definitely doesn’t know, and yet again, this only adds another layer of mystery towards them) and fix them back to their previous state, good as new some dared to say, or even better.

And with a very specific stitching, Hitomi disclosed, which added once again to the mystery surrounding the famed kukuru unit and the Zen’in family. Just what did they do that required such specifications from her sister, but yet, couldn’t be divulged to them so freely?

Guess she’ll never know, at least not right now, when all of her thoughts were struck by the horrifying sight of Meiko grabbing the kettle, walking over to the sink, and dumping its contents on it.

“Wha—what arE YOU DOING?!” Haruko cried while rushing to the housekeeper, doing her best to stop the older woman’s errant charade, but it was too late. All of the soup was completely gone, drained down the sewer, never to be seen again… “Noooo!!! That—That was perfectly good food!” she wailed; eyes stuck on the sink as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

“From this point forward, this is what will happen to all the food you dare touch” Meiko warns as she throws the container onto the sink, clanking loudly upon hitting the surface.  “As you said, I just threw away perfectly good food for no apparent reason—in the eyes of anyone else, this could be labeled as a loss. And naturally, if I keep doing so the masters will eventually become suspicious, suspicious enough to demand a reason behind this unprompted wastage. Now, I’m usually the one to deal with these matters, but I’m feeling rather generous today to let someone else take the lead. Can you guess who I have in mind?”

Haruko doesn’t answer, nor does she need to, for Meiko understands her message was efficiently delivered upon seeing the way her face drops.

“That’s right” Meiko frowns “You. And if you don’t want that to happen again, keep your mouth shut and your hands to yourself!”

The housekeeper exits the kitchen soon after that, but not without leaving behind a proper punishment for her transgression, which was redoing that day’s meal from scratch, as well as forbidding her from eating until she’s cleaned all of the kitchen… by herself. Undoubtedly, Meiko’s attempt to shove indoctrination inside her head.

This was the other side of the coin when it came to cooking, the one Haruko did not like and couldn’t do without feeling she was slowly dying inside. Thus it came to no one’s surprise that Meiko would choose something like that as castigation for her. 

With occasional snickers from nearby servants, to laments of those who wouldn’t wish this kind of predicament even to their worst enemies, Haruko was forsaken to scrub, scrub, and scrub the dirty plates, remove all grease from kitchen appliances, and put everything back in place once the masters were done—all while ruminating in the horror of the murder she’d witnesses a few instances ago, as well as the sadness of having to skip out on trying the fantastic meal she’d prepared; apparently the family was commemorating one of the many achievements of the heir, and so, only the best was to be served that day. Oh, how horrible indeed.

Trying to shake off the disappointments of her actions, and the fact that she won’t be able to eat until she’s done with this task, her mind takes this moment to recognize she hadn’t met either of the masters, or at least… not in distinguishable matters. 

She at least knows some of their names, such as Ogi, Jinichi, and the heir Naoya, son of Naobito, the leader.

But outside of that? They’re all a mystery to her. It’s like they don’t even exist to her—they’re just faceless figures that pay her salary and let her live there. Ones that were to be nothing but a blur for her, that is, until their peculiar tastes helped her distinguish them from one another.

For example, Naobito likes to drink alcohol whenever he can. It’s why the fridge, as well as some cabinets around the kitchen (and some rooms of the estate…), are filled to the brim with sake and other imported beverages. The reason why she had to learn all about these “hangover remedies” from one day to the other. At one point, she truly believed that the Zen’in were harboring a house full of raging alcoholics… when in reality, it was just one.

The next one is Ogi, his younger brother, the vegetarian. Through and through—No meats of any kind, that being: red meats, white meats, or even seafood. Nothing, just… vegetables and fruits. Sometimes he’ll even skip on having any other animal-derived products such as egg, or dairy, in favor of eating… well, plants. With some rice on the side if he was feeling particularly adventurous. Haruko wonders how a man like that (or a complete family, she’d later discover) could even exist, wondering if he didn’t miss the good ol’ taste of a nicely prepared steak, or freshly caught fish… or even be married, with kids! Thankfully, her duties rarely pertain to him, with his wife, the ever-frightening Junko, tending personally for him.

From there, Jinichi. He’s the easiest to describe: he likes to eat. A lot. And everything too. Haruko is her happiest when it comes to preparing his meals, because she gets to cook for virtually hours on hours, and with ingredients of the finest quality she has never ever dreamed of seeing in her life! Of all, he’s the only one she’s genuinely curious to know better.

Does he only like eating, or does he also like cooking? Would he like to indulge in a conversation of how his food is made, or does he prefer to eat in complete silence? Is he the kind of person to send his compliments to the chef, or takes these gestures for granted, for she’s just another member in the staff’s entourage? Lastly, is he a slow, or a fast eater? She hopes to get the answer to these questions one day.

And lastly, but not least, the heir. Now he’s a figure that she’s not really that interested in unveiling due to the nasty comments that seem to plague him wherever he’s brought up. From being labeled as a complete tyrant, to nothing more than a brat, he’s what many would consider a… flee on sight kind of person.

She’s yet to make a definite decision regarding him away from external factors; but even then, she can’t help but wonder just how accurate were the nasty comments some of the staff would say whenever his entourage wasn’t around. If they were true, then she was glad she had been able to avoid experiencing them first hand… until now that is. 

From there, she still had to conclude what kind of food he liked according to her experience, since whenever he was home the kitchen was tasked to prepare all kinds of delicacies. Well, even with this distinctiveness, Haruko was still able to find a common denominator amongst them all: miso soup. That, and the way she always has to prepare a bit more whenever he’s around naturally leads her to assume that of all things he’s tried in his life, this was one he liked the most.

It’s undeniable that many mysteries remained regarding their existences, from their type of personality, to what they like to do in their free time… and what they did for a living to uphold their rich lifestyle—and that was only for the ones she knew of, there were apparently still many more to uncover…

Normally, most of the staff members would’ve kept in their lane and minded their own business—but Haruko’s unrelenting inquisitiveness and need for information was… well, perseveringly what set her apart from the rest. But she shouldn’t be blamed so severely, after all, is what kept her alive throughout these boring moments.

«I’ve never seen this kind of secrecy with my previous employers» Haruko sighed as she reached over for the nearby latex gloves, sliding her hands into them before starting to work on the pile of dirty plates inside the sink. «Makes me think they’re trying to make up for something, maybe they’re ugly? Is that it?»

“Hey”

«Hmm, no. I think I would’ve heard that by now, considering how gossip seems to fly amongst the staff» she concludes, starting to diligently scrub the inside of a kettle with a sponge «Does that mean they’re handsome… no. Of course not. Just because they’re not ugly doesn’t mean they’re handsome! But imagine that? A hottie for a boss? I wouldn’t mind that, hehe!»

“Hey!”

«Though, of all people, I think I’d rather not see the heir. He sounds horrifying! A man like that can only be hideous both on the inside and the outside. But I do wish I could see Jinichi-sama. What kind of man would enjoy my food so delightfully…?»

“Uh, are you deaf?! Helloo!!!”

«Maybe I’ll be lucky to ever see the light of day after I’m done with these dishes, if Meiko-san doesn’t find it in herself to punish me with even more work» she sighs once more, placing the kettle upside down and besides the sink for it to dry before moving onto the next plate.

But before she was able to do as much, a strong grasp took hold of her shoulders, abruptly rattling her back to reality. It’s so brusquely, that she’s forced to drop whatever item she was holding back down to the sink, loudly crashing with the rest of the utensils, but not as powerful as her now thundering heart and sharp gasp.  

As if it were a severe case of déjà vu, Haruko quickly reacts by swirling her head—wide-eyed and ears ringing— onto the direction of the culprit behind this crude interjection, fearfully wondering what exactly did she do wrong this time. She was being extra careful too! Oh, why did fate have to be so cruel to her today?!

Haruko is mentally preparing herself to receive Meiko’s stern face as soon as she’s done turning around, because she’s the only one who had manhandled her like this in the past. No one else had the audacity to do so… so by process of elimination, all pointed to her.

Thus, to say that she was shocked upon seeing that the person who bewildered her—far from being the housekeeper or even her sister—was someone she had never seen in her life… was an understatement.

A tall man with piercing gray eyes, slightly disheveled dark hair, deep as the night, with sharp features that only made her feel miniscule, was there instead, to receive her.

His imposing presence and intense stare, asides from rendering her speechless, also reminded her of a cat—no, a bigger, more menacing feline. Like a lion. One that’s ready to pounce on its enemy given the opportunity due to the intensity in which he silently continues to scrutinize her—and as if that wasn’t disturbing enough, her inability to recall when he entered the kitchen only worsened her petrification.

Well, if she hadn’t been so enthralled in creating the fictional, fantastic version of her employers, she would’ve noticed the approaching sounds footsteps long ago, which had begun just a few feet away from the kitchen door, passing through the frame and making their way to her side, the man repetitively calling out to her as she simply plunged deeper and deeper into her thoughts—and… and were those tears on her face?? Seems Haruko was still affected by the wrongdoings committed against her food even after hours of its occurrence—only to be treated with silence, which inevitably made him assume he was being intentionally ignored.

But moving past the murderous intent lingering behind his sharp eyes, the second thing that managed to catch her eye were his strikingly good looks—which managed to overcome her fear, now filling her with embarrassment, which surfaced through her reddening cheeks and the further tightening of her throat.

Features that were to be unrecognized by the young man as he eventually relented his strong hold on her, having deemed her full attention on him, and returning to the main topic at hand—not without chastising her, of course.

“It should be mandatory to get the staff’s ears checked before hiring them—seriously, what were you doing? You wash dishes with your hands not your ears, there’s no excuse for you to not have heard me!” He scowls, and Haruko, who was originally fascinated by his charming looks, abruptly pulls back to the present with his crude words. Her fantasy shattered upon being reminded that good appearances don’t often align with good spirits.

If she had to describe this awful sensation, it would be nothing less than being “swiftly slapped across the face” or “being dumped with a bucket full of ice-cold water”—disappointing interpretations indeed, but not enough to discourage her, since Meiko was often much worse than that. “Anyways, I’m not here to question the housekeeper’s decisions, I’m here for something else”

“How may I help you?” Haruko, after overcoming these emotional trials, queried while straightening out her rumpled skirt due to the commotion, careful enough to not dampen the fabric with her soaked rubber gloves, before finally lifting her gaze to him.

He holds on to his answer, apparently in favor of squinting his eyes at her, as if he were scrutinizing (even more) her mere existence—a contrasting, unexpected behavior from someone to have after relaying how much of a big deal it was to not be attended. 

The longer he kept her on edge, the louder and faster her thoughts seemed to become, to the point where she thought she was going to blackout or something due to the lack of an answer!

Being cornered by a handsome (although a bit rude) mysterious young man was certainly… not what she envisioned. It’s not touching or romantic, it’s absolutely atrocious!

The silence was killing her—oh, what could this enigmatic man want with someone as innocent, hard-working, and absolutely wronged due to her circumstances, as her?! Is he there to double down on Meiko’s actions and make her life even more unbearable?? Or worse…

Is she about to get fired?! 

That’s it. This is her end. Her life on the Zen’in estate, after only a few months, cut short due to her nature. Oh, what will her mother think?! Her poor baby sister is going to starve!!

“Where is your sister?”

Now that…

That was something she did not expect.

Dumfounded, she immediately raises her eyebrows, eyes rapidly blinking, in an attempt to reset her conscience or something and confirm that his words hadn’t been a misjudgment from her ears, or perhaps even some kind of foul play intended to toy on her already tortured soul, now involving her sister! Would Meiko really go that low just to prove a point?

Logically thinking… No. She wouldn’t, at least… not with someone as “insignificant” as her, as she always liked to compare when in the hierarchy of things, and certainly not against someone as talented as Hitomi, as stated before by Meiko.

Or maybe someone from the staff decided to play along??

Impossible, she holds a rather amicable relationship with everyone she works with. Yes, even if some of them were mocking her predicament, it was nothing… that serious (or so she believes) and if anything, they always compliment her food! So there’s no way they could’ve planned this cruel joke on her…

That only leaves one last possibility, the most exciting and hopeful of them all: the one that declares that this man… was looking for his sister… for no other particular interest… outside of a personal one?!

Once the dots connect, Haruko gasps.

Pushing through the awkwardness of being abruptly plucked from the realm of her thoughts, to encounter a rather stern yet alluring face that only a few could withstand without quivering in the spot, a sudden revelation appears. One that manages to slowly drift away her anxiety and replace it with interest (nosiness, really), eager to know how accurate her version of events is and what this could mean for her sister!

“Why—Why do you need to know that?” Haruko casts the bait by feigning indignation, hoping that this would either reveal his true intentions with Hitomi, or at least move him a step closer to. Yet, as much as she tries to act indifferent to this whole situation, she couldn’t dare look him in the eye—he remains, even with her newfound interest, very much intimidating.

“That’s a first” Naohiko scoffs to himself, a general comment thrown to the air with no expected response in mind, so it naturally passes undetected to Haruko.  Still his intentions lay clear beneath his words to those that dare ponder further, revealing that his surprise not only pertained to the witnessing of her theatrical reaction for a simple inquiry, but for the questioning of his orders as well.

Were new hires always this… peculiar?

“You’re Hitomi’s sister, right?” He goes on, with a tone that would make anyone feel stupid for asking something so obvious—Haruko ignores it, in fact, she’s thriving on the fact that he knows who she is! That could only mean one thing…

That he’d done her homework regarding her sister! He was definitely interested in her, because why else would he investigate her personal life if he didn’t?! 

She can’t help but inwardly smirk with joy at the thought.

“Yes, I am” Haruko plays along. “But how do you know that?”

«Is she for real? Can’t she see it’s blatantly obvious?» Naohiko huffed “Because you two are identical—like, eerily so. If it weren’t for the short hair, I would’ve thought you were her”

It’s not the first time Haruko is told that she looks like her sister, or vice versa—if anything, it was a pretty common observation when they were younger. 

As time passed of course, the two began to grow out their individual features, as well as style each other in the way they liked; but back when their individualism was short, their mother often opted to dress them alike just of the fun of it—hair and everything—and this would even lead them to be confused as twins.

Could this mean that either… She looked as young as Hitomi, or Hitomi looked as old as her. Well, one year doesn’t really make much of a difference, but it’s sometimes that the sisters would sometimes jokingly discuss from time to time.

“Oh, so you’ve met her” Haruko emphasizes and close to his breaking point, Naohiko groans while rolling his eyes.

“Oh my god, just tell me if you know where she is, it’s an urgent matter!” he demands, and his words just make her already labored heart beat faster out of excitement!

«A confession, perhaps?!»

If that’s the case, she won’t stand in the way of love!

“She’s supposed to be at the south wing, helping the other seamstress” Haruko eventually divulges “But be careful! She’s quite… eccentric when she’s working, and might even—”

But before she was even able to finish her sentence, the man had left the same way he had seemingly arrived, quickly and without a trace, leaving her behind with nothing but her train of hyper thoughts for an exciting, unforeseen succession unraveling before her eyes.

Even when she was one to dislike being rudely dismissed, she took no offense to his action, simply labeling it as his own eagerness to find her sister! And how could she be upset by it? She’d do the same if she was in his shoes!

If anything, his actions gave her a much-needed boost of energy to finish her work, absolute motivation to find out what is next for Hitomi’s unforeseen admirer! Oh, will a relationship bloom from it?! Is he to be her future brother-in-law? She couldn’t wait to hear all about it!!

But for now, she’ll limit her attention to cleaning the kitchen.

After her seemingly endless shift was finally done, the first thing that Haruko does after saying her goodbyes to the lingering staff and leaving behind her “uniform”—an apron and a bandana— is head straight to her and Hitomi’s shared bedroom, where she knows is to be getting ready for the night, intending to barrage her with all kinds of questions pertaining to the succession she imagined already occurred a few moments ago.

It's all that has tormented her mind since happening, keeping her occupied, fueling in a way to survive through the tedious punishment Meiko had given her (making the housekeeper’s intentions useless, for Haruko didn’t learn anything about discipline—certainly not by gossiping of one of the masters!) and get to the end of the day.

But even when she was literally dying to know what happened, she managed to portray an incredible sense of restraint by giving them enough time to have their conversation—Haruko wasn’t about to finish her work and then find out that her sister hadn’t spoken to this young man just yet!

In that way, could one say that Meiko’s punishment wasn’t as fruitless as it seemed…?

So in between a combination of doing the bare minimum, as well as rushing her work from time to time to appear committed, she manages to adequately clean everything to perfection before scampering through the halls, quietly to not get herself into any more trouble, but quick enough to reach to her destination without wasting any more time than necessary. 

Haruko eventually arrives at the chambers, with her cheeks red and quick gasps, but this wouldn’t stop her, not even when her chest pleaded her to stop for a minute to regain her breath, as she moves on to abruptly slide the doors open and storm inside.

Her entrance had been, in accordance to her behavior, so alarming and sudden that the half-dressed woman inside didn’t have enough time to process what was happening, forcing her to screech as a reaction.

“What the—HARUKO! Couldn’t you have knocked?!” the seamstress—although slightly more relaxed upon finding out who was the perpetrator behind the intrusion— sternly berates her as she rushes to cover whatever modesty she had left with her nearby clothes, the shivers she was experiencing from the cold night while changing into her nightgown were promptly discarded and replenished by the blazing agitation and indignation of her sister barging into their room.

It's intense enough for her to urgently ask Haruko to close the door immediately, less she wants her to be exposed to an unwanted passerby?!

“Close the door already! Don’t you see I’m changing?! How would you like it if I did the same to you?!”

“Oh, sorry, sorry!” Haruko breathes and in one swift movement, slams the door shut behind her. The two sisters silently look at each other, as if giving enough time for both to compose themselves. Once their breathing begins to calm down, the cook takes the first step by walking towards Hitomi and taking a seat just beside her on their conjoined futons. 

Hitomi doesn’t bother to ask why she’d barged so agitatedly into their room once her heart adopts regains its healthy patter, opting instead to resume changing into her pajamas, greeting her sister while doing so—After all, it was of a common occurrence for Haruko to be all hyperactive when in a new environment. 

Not that she never used to react by matching her energy, exerting herself to grow worried about every single time she arrived like this, until she eventually that realized most of Haruko’s attention dwelled in… well, not irrelevant things, but certainly not urgent, and it soon became a “crying wolf” situation between the two.

The youngest of the two still cared for her, that much is indisputable, she’s just learned to… be selective on when to “freak out”

Taking that into consideration, Hitomi could already guess what her reaction was all about.

The seamstress had learned of the small incident that occurred with Meiko just a few hours ago, and she inwardly sighs at the notion of having to hear her sister complain about this.

She’d already lost count of how many times she’d told her this, but if she’d only listened to her advice, which was to obey what the housekeeper ordered and abstain from trouble… well, she wouldn’t be getting into so much trouble to begin with!

Ah, sometimes she feels as if she were the older sister, and not the other way around.

Well, this wouldn’t be the first time she was right when discussing her sister.

However, she would be wrong in guessing that tonight’s conversation would pertain to Meiko at all. 

“You won’t believe what happened to me today!” Haruko begins, slightly ruffling her hair so as to remove the imprint of having to wear all-day her bandana, before grinning and crossing her legs “But before I go on, did someone come looking for you today?”

“Looking for me?” Hitomi murmurs, standing up and reaching over for a brush on their small vanity table before heading back to her sister’s side and starting to work through the knots of her long, brown hair. “Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Oh, he did!” Haruko gasps and Hitomi, who was already confused by the relevancy of this question, sinks further into her confusion, turning her head to face her sister as if the explanation rested on her playful features. “How long has this been happening?!”

“You need to be… more specific, Haruko. I have no idea what you’re talking about”

“What do you mean you have no idea?! There was a tall pretty boy looking for you a few hours ago! I told him where you were and that was the last I heard of him, but he knew that you and I were sisters so that means that he knows you well!” Haruko excitedly explains, as if retelling her favorite scene from a tv show. And for her, that might just be it.

But Hitomi, who had never been one to partake in such things due to her attention lingering on seemingly more important things, could only sigh and grumble out of displeasure.

“Haruko…”

 “Why didn’t you tell me about him, hm? You know you can tell me anything! Oh, did you think I would like him too and steal him?? That hurts me, Hitomi! I hope you know I would never do something like that to you!”

“Haruko” 

“Of course not! You’re my sister and if you’re happy with him I’ll fully support you! But wait, Meiko said something about not being able to date!” she gasps, clasping her hands over her mouth at the sudden implication of the indecent “Does that mean this will be kept under covers, a secret?! Am I the only one that knows of this??”

“Haruko!”

“I shall keep your secret! They will have to kill me if they ever want to get the truth out of me, and even then, I’ll take it to the grave!” the cook proudly declares “You can put your secret in my hands, sister, I will gladly put my life on the line for you!”

“HARUKO!” Hitomi interrupted “Stop! Where did you even get these ideas from?! And what pretty tall boy are you talking about??”

“You have MORE THAN ONE?!” Haruko yelped a bit too loudly and Hitomi immediately tackled her, careful enough to not drop her back to the futon, but efficient enough to clasp her hands over her mouth and silence her. Of all things that she would have understood from her words, that’s the interpretation she decided to take?!

“No, you idiot!! I mean—why can’t you be specific for once about the things you’re talking about??” she flusters “Who went to see you?? And promise me to only respond to what I ask you in your indoor voice, or I won’t lift my hands from your mouth and I’m going to sleep on top of you!”

Haruko frowns, groaning before nodding one, two times, agreeing to her terms. It was just too juicy of a topic to speak in such a controlled tone, but if she was to get to the bottom of this (and live for the next day) then she’ll compromise.

Hitomi, although a bit hesitant, is eventually convinced by her gestures and slowly begins to peel her hands from her mouth—silently praying that this hadn’t been a mistake. 

“It was a tall man, with dark hair, gray eyes. And he kind of looked like a cat—no, like a tiger or a lion!” Haruko heatedly whispered “Very intimidating. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man like that before, and I certainly didn’t think that he’d be your type!”

“Please don’t say that” Hitomi sighs, crossing her arms while carefully going through her sister’s words in efforts of figuring out who she was referring to.

«Tall, dark hair, gray eyes… Just who is she talking abo—oh!» 

And then, it all clicks.

When it does, the seamstress’ confusion is quickly thrown out the window and replaced with embarrassment—no, frustration would be a more accurate description—for infuriating reasons that would be revealed soon enough.

“What’s wrong, Hitomi?” Unable to ignore the blatant anger on her sister’s face, Haruko asks.

“That’s—What exactly did he ask you? And what else did you say?!” Hitomi fretted. What happened to keeping an indoor voice?

“No—nothing!” she flinches, caught off guard by her sister’s unusual outburst. But even with this uncommon commotion, Haruko is not to deny that getting to see her sister flustered for the first time in her life was very… entertaining.  “I mean—nothing bad, he just asked about you and I told him where to find you, he was quite rude though, he didn’t even say thank you!” she says, carefully leaving out the fact that she was toying with him at one point… for it might get the wrong message across.

“Of course, he wasn’t going to say thank you!” Hitomi groans, her concern reaching new highs by each passing second. “Do you even know who he is? He’s one of the masters, Naohiko-sama!”

“One… one of the masters?” Haruko doubts, slightly pressing her brows together “What do you mean one of the masters…?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds, Haruko—He’s one of the many sons of the leader! You’ve met the other, right? Naoya-sama—That’s his brother! Oh, don’t tell me you actually did something you weren’t supposed to!”

“No! Of course not! As I said, nothing bad. If anything, he was the one that was rude!” Haruko justifies, as if this could amount to anything when it comes to the job she’s going to inevitably lose thanks to her uncontrolled silliness—oh, why must she always be like this?

And as if Hitomi could read her mind, she warns.

“Not that I support that kind of behavior, but you have to be careful if you want to keep this job! Aren’t you already on thin ice with Meiko-san??”

“Oh… so you heard that…?” Haruko chuckles nervously, instinctively scratching the back of her neck. Hitomi sighs.

“I think everyone did—it’s all my mentor could talk about. Besides, I assumed something was up when you didn’t join me for dinner”

“Yeah… I was forced to stay behind while everyone left!”

“That’s why you should be careful with how you behave! More so with the masters… specifically with him—he’s… I don’t know how to say it, odd?”

“Odd?” And as if the worry of her losing her job wasn’t as important, she refocuses on what exalted her in the first place by prodding Hitomi and her perception of this young master. “What do you mean by odd?”

“We could start by how he went looking for you just to ask for me? Isn’t that weird by itself? He’s one of the masters! Couldn’t he just ask the housekeeper or something?”

“Now that you put it that way, I guess it makes sense. Maybe he just wanted to get a precise answer since, you know, we’re sisters and all that—but that’s not important! What’s important is… why was he looking for you in the first place?” Haruko tilts her head to the right, before a devilish smirk begins to part her lips “Hmmmm???”

“Oh, stop it” Hitomi rolls her eyes, playfully slapping her shoulder while her sister chuckles. “It’s just that he… well, he’s been following me for a while now, and I have yet to figure out why”

“How long has that been going on?”

Shortly after she started working with the kukuru unit.

Before that, Hitomi was able to enjoy a life of uneventful days, filled with nothing more but audits she considered menial for someone of her ability. 

The seamstress before her, her now mentor, thought it necessary to test her knowledge before pushing her onto heavier tasks. After all, she was only 17 when she got admitted into the Zen’in estate, so how much would a young girl like her know about sewing?

Apparently, a lot. Because whatever obstacles seamstress placed, Hitomi was able to overcome them easily and quickly—coincidentally, the two most sought-after features for someone in her field

From there, her mentor moved her up to something a bit more difficult, and that was, to create a whole new garment from scratch, while using one of the most expensive fabrics she could find. 

It’s an examination that most tailors, even those that are highly experienced might find intimidating from time to time in fear of wasting materials, but not for Hitomi, whose performance was not only satisfactory for her, but for her “client” as well, who promised to commission her in the future shall the occasion arise. 

They’d be the only to leave feeling accomplished, because all that Hitomi could think of this job was: «how disappointing. I was expecting a challenge»

Now that her skills were adequately assessed, the senior seamstress decided to put her talents somewhere she thought necessary, and that takes us to the first point.

The kukuru unit were popular amongst tailors and not because they were the best dressed of the estate, but rather, for their obligation in ruining their uniforms. By their consistency, one could even say they did so intentionally, as if trying to get a rise of those poor souls that were left behind to tend to their mistakes.

Everyone knew these things were due to the nature of their job, but that didn’t mean the workers couldn’t complain, or retaliate in that matter, about it. Eventually leading some to simply… not do it. Or do a poor job once one of the members dared complain—which was rare on its own since the Zen’in weren’t known for being avid defendants of those they considered less.

Thus, Hitomi’s mentor thought she’d struck gold when she came along. With someone of her outstanding talent, she could easily dump her with all the things no one wanted to do and that’d be the end of it! 

Everyone would be happy, and yes, including Hitomi, whom even though she didn’t take long to catch the seamstress’ intention and slightly resent her for that, as well as the simplicity of the job and the sudden increase it represented on her workload (didn’t she want a challenge?) still took this task with great pride since it was at the end of the day, something she continued to greatly enjoy. 

And that seemed to be the story of her flourishing career at the Zen’in estate… that is, until her arrival to this new “department” suddenly made her responsibilities a bit… intriguing. 

Hitomi had gotten the idea, due to the amount of work she was getting, that she was to be both the only person to do the job, and the only one who cared to do so. 

Sure, her mentor was there too to help her from time to time, but as days went by, she came to the conclusion that this was only to appear… relevant to the staff, for in due time, according to the words the housekeeper confided her with, Hitomi was fated to be her inevitable replacement. A dreadful conversation she’s thankful for not being responsible for. 

Either way, she knew that whatever happened outside her needles and fabrics was not to be of her business, simply staying on her lane and enjoying that fact that now, finally, after all those tedious, ridiculous examinations, she could do her job in complete solitude, without a shadowing mentor, just as how she liked it. 

Or at least, that’s what she thought would occur, until one unremarkable weekday morning, fate decided to prove her wrong.

It was as clear as day to notice such discrepancy: the distant presence of someone looming just around the corner, from the usual quiet, empty halls, that is. 

Hitomi didn’t think much of it at first, outside of labeling it the expected curiosity of the inhabitants towards the newest addition to their staff. But as this continued to happen, weeks into her being hired, she began to believe that this “attention” had stopped being from simple intrigue, and now, it was borderline concerning. 

With enough diligence, Hitomi was eventually able to distinguish the unsolicited presence to be from a young man, one of the masters, as her mentor would eventually reveal.

Naohiko, she’d discover later on, had limited himself to observe her at a distance, with few exceptions of approaching her to either add more garments to her pile of work, or lay down more unprompted gestures in the shape of comments, such as “are you doing all of these yourself?” and “don’t mess them up”

All things that bothered her in a way one could only imagine. As she said before, she was never one to like crowds she didn’t previously approve of, or commentary from people she deemed ignorant about the subject if she hadn’t asked for it. 

But perhaps the one thing that irritated her the most, was that even with all of these things… he never dared approach her directly. Not even to introduce himself. He just barged into her workplace, doubled her tasks, gave her unwanted commentary, and left! 

And that’s how it continued to be up until that day.

But if her animosity for having someone trailing her wasn’t enough, her natural overprotectiveness over her family further ignited her anger towards him upon hearing that not only did Naohiko had the audacity to seek her sister the moment he didn’t caught wind of her, but he had also been rude to her!

With Haruko’s disclosure of events, it’s obvious that this situation is not going to end anytime soon, unless someone does something. And that someone was to be her. 

Thus, after briefly explaining who this incredibly exasperating man was to her, effectively brushing away any indications of a romance flourishing between the two (kind of, Haruko wasn’t about to die on that hill just yet), Hitomi took on a new responsibility, which was to put an end to both his stalking and save his sister from whatever funny idea he might get!!

She was well aware of how hypocritical this was going to sound coming from her, considering how much energy she spends warning her sister to behave according to the surroundings in efforts of avoiding trouble; but because of that is why Hitomi thinks it’s of absolute importance that she does this herself!

Haruko has been struggling with adapting to her new lifestyle due to her nature, the housekeeper already having a close eye on her was bad as it is… so she certainly didn’t need anything else obstructing her stay here.

This is where Hitomi’s reputation steps in. Because she was much closer to the housekeeper, having a more respectable relationship with her compared to her sister, she knows that if she were to act… improperly, she more likely than not leave unscathed—perhaps with a small warning—but nothing she can’t handle.

It was set. She’ll wait for the moment Naohiko approaches her, and then, she’ll tell him to leave them alone once and for all.

The anticipated moment arrives just as planned, if not better than expected—Naohiko’s shadowy presence becoming apparent at the corner of her eye just minutes after starting her duties.

Hitomi had waited for this moment since she closed her eyes the night prior, patiently, diligently counting the hours, if not minutes, she’ll finally be able to see him and confront him and his stalking, imprudent charades.

She’s thankful that today her mentor had decided to not accompany her, leaving her completely alone to do what she had in mind. There was to be no one to put a stop to doing the (wrong) thing she was about to do, lessening the chances of her being reprimanded. 

The young seamstress keeps quiet, feigning that all of her attention is on the torn garments before her and not on the figure at the distance who now began to approach her. 

Hitomi manages to briefly lift up her gaze from her work and take a glimpse at his direction, quickly noticing that he was not empty handed for the day: Naohiko was carrying a few garments she supposes wants to be fixed by her, the reason behind his movement. 

Even with her carefully concocted plan, she’s still able to squeeze in a quick minute to question his actions. Why did he personally bring his clothes? Doesn’t he have staff to do that for him? For a weirdo like him, probably not.

«But that’s good for my cause» she muses as she hears his footsteps coming closer and closer «He’ll be walking right into my trap»

And once his shadow is casted to her side, signifying his closeness, her plan begins.

“I heard you went looking for my sister the other day”

Naohiko, who had limited his interactions with her to minimal hums and glances, stops. Holding the garments he was intending to put down on her already big pile of work just a few inches above it before turning his head to see her, manifestly bewildered.

“I… did” he cautions, taking a step back to get a better look at her and her stern face. He’s never seen her like this, she’s always so… emotionless when working. Naohiko thinks he likes her previous emotions a bit better. “What’s it to you?”

Predictable, is what Hitomi thinks. More when considering the words Haruko used to describe him—rude. What a way to respond.

“A problem” Guess he’ll have to try harder if he wants to intimidate her! “That’s what it is to me”

“I fail to see how that is anyone’s problem, really” Naohiko retorted “I was just asking for directions since you weren’t here when you were supposed to”

«Supposed to?» Hitomi scrutinizes «And how would he know that? Don’t tell me he knows my schedule now!»

“All complaints and questions of my whereabouts should be handled with the housekeeper directly” She says “Thus, I’d appreciate it if you kept things professional by leaving my sister out of this—She’s in a completely different assignment, after all”

“Not that I intended to look for her again” Naohiko groans, rolling his eyes “It’s not her I’m interested in anyways”

She already had a basic understanding that someone as persistent as him would certainly be interested in her one way or the other, but for some reason, Haruko’s teasing tone from last night’s conversations suddenly flashes across her mind.

I think he liiiikes you.

Hitomi shakes the jest out of her mind as soon as it appears. Not only was it uncalled for, but completely baseless. Nothing but the result of Haruko’s imaginative creation and her need to salvage herself from boredom. 

Naohiko was just being weird, rude, and highly condescending. There could be no other motive behind his words but to make less of her.

…Right?

“What about me interests you?” she coaxed, her curiosity for his defense prompting her to do so.

“You, of course, and your amazing skills” Naohiko admits, and the tone he uses could only be described as… irritation? One that pertained to having been interrogated with a stupidly obvious question, which had an even more obvious answer at that.

But she doesn’t share that sentiment, at all, because for the first time in her life, she’s caught off guard by his words.

Of all things he could’ve said, such as something about appearance—like most men would often do, because what else could he possibly say about her?— he decided to… comment on her work, further intriguing her.

“Me?” Hitomi probes, blinking.

“Do you see anyone else here?” He scoffed “Yes, of course you! I don’t want anyone else touching my clothes if it isn’t you!” And as if to make a point, he finally throws his clothes on the nearby pile. “I knew it was someone new when I got my stuff back—kind of hard to ignore since the work from the other seamstress was always so… brutish, like she doesn’t care how it looks as long as it’s fixed, or that we’re paying her to do so! 

But you’re different. Your seams are always so clean, sturdy, yet delicate. There’s a certain craftsmanship behind your hands that not only shows that you know what you’re doing, but that you actually enjoy it too. Passing my fingers through your orderly stitching feels like—I don’t know, liquid gold or something, like warm bread fresh out of the bakery—So yeah, it's obvious I’m interested in you. You’re the best goddamn seamstress in the estate, probably the whole city too, and I’d be stupid to not take advantage that I have you here at arm’s reach”

At this revelation, all that Hitomi can do is stare at him, dumbfounded, while trying to process the barrage of commendations she’d been tackled with.

It’s… completely different from the outcome she expected upon interceding this situation, not even in her wildest dreams did she think this would be the path this confrontation would take. 

This would be the first time anyone has ever appreciated her work the way he has done. Yes, she’s heard positive comments from others in the past, beginning with her mother and sister, and the occasional addition of the housekeeper, but outside of that, it was either dismissing reminders that this was her job, so performing less than expected wasn’t an option, or excessive amounts of work she ultimately decided to take as regards for a job well done.

Never, in any point of her life, had she’d been blessed with such a beautiful description of her work, even when the delivery was a bit harsh from his end, that one might think she was being pranked. Did he even notice the things he’d just told her?

Well, even if he hadn’t… his consistency was enough to prove that he at least, deep inside him, genuinely meant some of them. One could even think his appreciation went further than that, considering how he went on and on about them… 

And to make matters more impressive, he was also the first person that appreciated her work since arriving to the estate. She’s worked with other masters, with Naobito, Ogi, and none of them had ever spoken a word towards her skills. And really, she was ok with it—there’s something about their distance that she found calming.

But Naohiko, in other words, didn’t care. And such an approach achieved him one of her milestones—he, a master of the Zen’in clan, had personally recognized her.

An honor that, alongside the authenticity behind his actions and words, was something that slowly, but surely, began to warm her cheeks. 

But it still wasn’t enough to impress her away from the main objective behind their conversation, promptly returning her back to earth—although remaining humble enough to recognize his words.

“Thank you, but I’m still going to ask you to stop seeking my sister” she says, eyes darting down to the ground for a quick second, an effort to clear her slightly turmoiled head, before returning to him.

Considering his background, Hitomi expects him to go on about how it was none of her business, that if she wanted him to leave her sister alone then she should stick to her schedule or something.

But just as it happened moments ago, she’s to be received with another surprise.

“Ok” he concedes “Only if you promise to tend for all my clothes from this point forward”

With a catch, of course.

“I will not make such promises” Hitomi deliberates what is the most adequate response in this situation, considering that is not something for her to decide. If he wants to achieve such a thing, he’ll have to discuss it with Meiko. 

“Alright, seamstress. But don’t say I didn’t warn you” he smirks. Naohiko continues to be an enthralling mystery to her due to his… peculiar reaction to her rejection.

“The least you could do is call me by my name—Hitomi” she says, unimpressed by his response. Even with his kind words, he manages to continue being a jerk. “If you’re going to threaten me, or if you want me to consider your request, that is” 

“How… interesting, seamstress. Guess you’ll just have to wait and see” Is all that he responds with, giving her a chuckle before turning around and then disappearing into the halls. 

Hitomi is left behind to wonder what his eerie words meant, as well as ruminating on the way she referred to him before his departure. Does she regret what happened? Personally, no. She did what was right, therefore no one can say she didn’t try.

Well, maybe she was a bit regretful. Her concern lying with her sister and the possible consequences she had unleashed on her due to her boldness. If only she didn’t get distracted by his compliments, then maybe things would have gone differently!

Nonetheless, what’s done is done. And all that she, and Haruko, can do is prepare for impact. For the moment Naohiko either decides to complain about her “courage” with the housekeeper, or the letter of their termination, whatever comes first.

And as day passed by, Hitomi grew more and more anxious at the seeming silence of Naohiko, trying to figure out if he’s already done something to their detriment and she had yet to notice, keeping a close eye on the housekeeper and any lingering rumors affecting their employment, or worse, the involvement of other masters…

Eventually finding out that not only neither of these concerns had occurred, but instead, he’s decided to take a completely different approach.

And that is, help her.

Whenever she voiced the need of, let’s say, thread, needles, or even a new sewing machine because the old one was beyond repair, not a day would pass before she’d have them delivered straight to her, wherever she might be, ready for usage.

Still, these deliveries could’ve been done by anyone, right? How was Hitomi so sure that it was Naohiko behind these orders, when it easily could’ve been the senior seamstress instead?

Well, because all of them were accompanied with a note that often said “Nice excuse—but you’ll need to do better than that if you want to skip work” Hitomi always rolled her eyes when reading such words, another indication that this had been the work of none other than Naohiko himself.

Not even her mentor, who had worked in the Zen’in estate far longer than Hitomi, got to enjoy these privileges in her time, simply limiting herself to file in said request with the housekeeper and hope there was some leftover budget to oblige such purchases.

Thus, if there was any lingering doubt of his appreciation for her work, it was completely eradicated with these gestures. And Hitomi… well, she began to feel a combination of feelings. Starting with confusion, embarrassment, but most of all… fascination.

And why wouldn’t she? She was getting state-of-the-art equipment to do her work to begin with. From there, Haruko has yet to say anything about Naohiko, that isn’t of a teasing nature of course, worsening when she caught wind of his gestures towards her, so at least… that’s dealt with.

These were all things she certainly found… interesting. To the point she was even compelled to repair his clothes exclusively, just as he requested.

Yet, as much as she was being impressed by him, she knew that she couldn’t approach her work in this matter. Hitomi didn’t want this to affect her job in any shape or form. Whatever he wanted to do, whatever intended with her… it would have to remain strictly professional. So, she had to show impartiality in fairness for all of those she was working for.

…

…

…

Fine. She’ll admit that after all the attention he’s given her, she did concede in at least one thing, that being allowing him to “supervise” her (as he’d like to say) whenever she was working on his garments. 

A deal that was already struck without her prior consideration, it’s just that now she finally gave it her approval.

Turns out Naohiko could be quite enjoyable to have a conversation with, when he wasn’t being a jerk, of course. Which he continued to be even when she was helping him out, but the more they got to talk with one another, the more comfortable Hitomi felt to put a stop to his brattish ways whenever he got out of line.

Naohiko wasn’t very reciprocatively to her efforts, but he eventually learned to accept them. A bit. Kind of. Eh, there’s still much work to do.

But moving past that, she really enjoyed her conversations with him. With Naohiko being an avid movie enjoyer, his retellings were always lively. 

Whenever speaking of his latest watch, he’d describe the scenes with such… impact, that she felt as if she were in the actual cinema watching the movie alongside him–which was something that she greatly enjoyed more, considering she wasn’t able to enjoy such things due to her limited lifestyle.

And Naohiko, on the other hand, also seemed to enjoy her company. Being able to discuss the things he liked without being interrupted or dismissed immediately after beginning was… certainly a privilege of his own he never thought to receive in his life. 

Even though there were moments he wished she’d just seen the movie so she could give him some commentary about certain scenes or plot-twists. Well, that was to be nothing more than a small setback in the great scale of things. He still looked forward to their conversations, and if he truly wanted her to witness a certain keypoint with her own eyes, he'd set up a T.V. and invite her to watch said movie, or even take her to the movies. Find out what kind of genre is her favorite white at it… Ah, someday.

Given their growing familiarity, it was only natural that these conversations would begin to occur more and more often, expanding from the moments she was working on his garments to general sewing tasks… or when she wasn’t working at all. 

For today, Naohiko found time to accompany her while she was working on a rather important project, creating a kimono for one the future wife of one of his many relatives.

The fabric was of a lovely navy blue, decorated with patterns of white flowers and golden intricacies—perfectly matching the seasonal trends. There was such beauty with the combination, that the second eldest of Naobito’s sons chose it as a topic of discussion.

“You like fabric, don’t you, seamstress?” he says. Naohiko is sitting beside her, intently watching her focus on the work at hand as he lazily leans back on his arms. 

“Hitomi” She cautions, eyes diligently on the sewing machine so as to not sew her finger. She’d press the pedal ever so softly from time to time—the fabric for that garment was one of those that, if not cared for carefully, will move alongside the machine. An inconvenience for sure, but she’ll get over it soon enough. “But I guess. Would be kind of ironic if I didn’t, considering what I do for a living”

“I thought so” he says, eyes now on her hands. Naohiko wonders if she’d pricked herself before with a needle, or has she always been this cautious? “I’m just saying so because the villagers are going to set up a market tomorrow, and sometimes a merchant comes with really good fabrics—thought you’d like to know”

“Is that where you get your clothes?” Hitomi asks. She’s noted that his clothes were far from average when it came to quality, leading her to believe that aside from being a movie critic, he was also a fashionista. Would make sense considering his attention to detail with her stitches, no regular mortal would bother to care about such a thing if they didn’t like fashion, at least a bit. “I guess I could check it on my day off, tomorrow”

“Really? What were you planning to do?” he tilts his head.

“Nothing much” she admits, taking her foot off the pedal once stitching the pieces together, pulling it towards her to cut the remaining thread and move onto the next section. “Probably send a letter to my mom, or just hang around at the estate with my sister since she still has to work”

“Well, your sister is going to be here every day so I still think you should go down to the village and look around, maybe buy some fabrics to make something for yourself. The mail is also there so, two birds one stone”

She hums pensively.

“What?” he raises an eyebrow “I mean, surely you know how to make something for yourself”

“Obviously” she murmurs, still looking at her work. “It worries me there was even a doubt about that”

“Not from me” Naohiko responds “Because I know for a fact that there's no one else that can do what you do”

Hitomi holds back a smile. She could listen to that phrase all day…

“Ah, well, that’s just my suggestion” He shrugs “Thought it was a good one since you seem like the type of person that would look good in everything, I mean, you’re pretty and all, that’s already a huge advantage on your side”

At his words, Hitomi’s mind comes to a screeching halt—both figuratively, and literally.

Naohiko’s implicit admission, and the implication behind them, not only managed to render her mind blank —still attempting to process the veracity of them, while being nothing less than shocked— but also, rattle her out of her focus by making her accidentally press on the pedal a harsher than desired, derailing her stitching to go beyond where she intended to finish; and as if that wasn’t enough, crookedly as well.

The rigorous sound of the sewing machine manages to momentarily snap her out of trance, forcing a quick gasp out of her as soon as realizing her mistake and hastily reaching for the seam ripper in an attempt to salvage her work. 

But even with these combinations of successions effectively spiraling her down a turmoil of thoughts and emotions, between worries that her work might become unfixable if not proceeding accordingly and attempting to put the blame of her distraction on him, there was one question that prevailed amongst all.

Did he… did he really… just call her pretty?

That fact is to be undisputable, even when Hitomi still had doubts of it, but whatever the motives behind those words, they would continue to remain a mystery as he moves on to tease her with his following words.

“What happened there, seamstress?” Naohiko says, doing nothing to hold back his hyena-like laughter, entertained by her reaction. He’s completely oblivious to the inner workings that lead her to act that way, and his actions are certainly not doing anything to help him understand. “Thought you were the best in the area, haha!!”

“Oh, shut up!” she snaps, face tinted red as she furiously continues to rip the seams of her askew work. He simply continues to jest “If you’re not going to help, then don’t bother me!”

“Why are you so angry? You’re not hurt, are you?” He asks, inching closer to take a better look at her hands, carefully grabbing her wrist to do so—her cheeks further flare at the motion. “See? Nothing bad, learn to take a joke from time to time, Hitomi. Life is much more than a wrong stitch, but if it bothers you so much, I’ll buy you more fabric.”

Embarrassed and emotionally exposed, but mostly the first, the seamstress pulls her hand back to her chest as soon as she could, leaving it there as her mind plunders yet again, into another turmoil of emotions.

Oh, she’s definitely in it now. In Naohiko’s trap, that is.

The one that intended to humiliate her, of course. Because why else would he say something like that if it wasn’t with that goal in mind? And after all she’s done for him…. Offering exclusivity to his garments when he knew damn well that wasn’t available in her options! How infuriating indeed.

Hitomi was only grateful that her mistake wasn’t that grave to begin with, a quick fix once she regains her composure and that she’s relatively unharmed, aside from getting emotionally flustered.

As well as relieved that Haruko hadn’t been around to see such an exchange, because if she had, it would be more than obvious that she’ll never get over it. Her sister would be prompted to go on and on about how he likes her and what not, till the end of time.

Or at this point, how she’s starting to like him too. Because even when irritated by his actions, she still managed to find some charm behind th—.

What?

Did she just… did she just think that?!

No, of course not!

She doesn’t like him. That’s absolutely ludicrous. Hitomi doesn’t like him; she only likes his words— and that’s completely different.

After all, who doesn’t enjoy being recognized by their work and skills, ones that she’d honed throughout years and years of dedication? And only for this moment, appearance as well? Everyone, that’s who! 

It was only natural that Hitomi would feel somewhat… mesmerized by these attentions, and subsequently the person they came from—beginning to think that he wasn’t so bad looking himself—

Oh, there she goes again, getting distracted by him!! 

Besides, she had to remember that any kind of fraternization amongst staff members was strictly prohibited—more so with the masters! — and Hitomi cared too much for her job and what it meant for her family to be clumsy and lose it!

So, in other words, even if she wanted to… pursue something, she knew she couldn’t.

If only her sister’s persistence (or perhaps quick observation?) weren’t the first ones to make such commentary, perhaps she wouldn’t be in this dilemma to begin with. Life was certainly easier when all that she had to worry about was doing her job correctly, sending money to her family, dote on her baby sister, guide her older sister, and overall… survive.

But even when she’s carefully planned all of her life up to his point, she won’t deny that of all things she imagined happening at the Zen’in estate, getting close to one of the masters was certainly not amongst them.

Despite this discrepancy, she’s not going to allow herself to indulge in it. Not even when she already began to find some charm in Naohiko’s… vices and virtues, it was something that had to stop right then and there, for her sake.

That doesn’t mean she can’t write about it to her mom next time she goes to the post office, or that she’ll be able to stop her sister from spreading the wrong idea, already envisioning how she’s going to pester about it from the moment the sun dawns to when it sets—although Hitomi suspects she’s already past that point.

Or even… perhaps… daydream about an alternate universe where she’ll be able to pursue a relationship with him… without it having to interfere with her other responsibilities, getting to enjoy his attention full heartedly, from time to time.

No, that will not come to be.

She will never accept wanting to revel in such a thing. She’ll never concede to his unprompted attention, irritating companionship, or even dumb antics. 

Hitomi will never admit Naohiko’s presence in her life…

At least, out loud.

#series side stories: first it hurts— #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen fanfic #jujutsu fanfic #jujutsu kaisen oc

[becauseplot]

Sorry if this is weird but I saw on the tags of one of ur reblog’s that you’ve been thinking about c!phil in the qsmp and can you expand on that??

I’ve genuinely been thinking about this for WEEKS as well and I’d love to hear ur headcanons!! Only if you want to ofc!!

Oh sure, I'd love to!! (SUPER long post incoming, hope you're ready lmao.)

Honestly they're not so much headcanons as they are ideas for plot?? I like writing, so a lot of my ideas are in the form of stories. The main reason I haven't attempted a fic yet is bc I don't have Enough plot to make anything atm, I've only got random scenes.

ANYWAY. c!Phil in qsmp. I'd probably take c!Phil as he is shortly after c!Techno's passing and chuck him into the qsmp story in the little bit of lore-downtime between the spiderbit wedding and when the election stuff started kicking up (but it's been announced by this point). It’s just so that I don't have to worry about working him into any major story arcs. Missa and q!Wilbur are also there because I said so.

The main thing I have in mind is just c!Phil seeing how different the community is on the island relative to his world---how united the island is, how alive the island is. People have waystones directly connecting each other to their bases and central areas; they drop in on each other all the time. People's comms buzz constantly as full conversations take place over global chat instead of through whisper-messages. There are security doors and reinforced walls but they're not necessarily to keep other islanders out; people share passcodes and access keys for emergencies. Everyone seems to know and trust each other despite the mysterious (and sometimes dangerous) circumstances they find themselves in.

In c!Phil's quiet, post-post-post-Doomsday world, where most were scattered to the wind or went into hiding, this would be a serious shock for him. I think it would take him a bit of time (and quite a bit of reassurance from q!Missa and q!Phil) for him to adjust to the fact he doesn't need to put a hand on his weapon every time someone gets a little too close. He'd probably be a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and how inviting they are (introvert/isolationist moment). q!Phil (also introverted and isolative by nature) would clock this Immediately and come up with excuses for c!Phil whenever he clearly needs a break. Suddenly being around so many people, especially after c!Techno's passing...it would be draining.

What else... Oh, the "tttt" system! I have a whole Idea(TM) about this scene so I won't say too much here but c!Phil marveling at how everyone shows up to help. Again, the whiplash.

Also, hearing about the upcoming elections would give him an immediate shot of anxiety. Like, someone mentions the elections and c!Phil's face goes white. Yeah. Elections and community division are what led to him making the worst decision of his life (killing his son---though c!Wilbur's downward spiral started long before the elections). He hates to think that this loving community could be corrupted like L'Manburg's was. Before he's sent back to his homeword, he definitely takes the time to warn them about the potential danger they're running into.

OH! And the Technoblade shrine Tallulah made! Again, I've got a whole Scene about the Technoblade shrine in my head, so I'll keep this brief as to not just write out the whole scene (lmao), but I think he would really appreciate it. In his world, c!Techno had a lot more enemies than friends, so seeing how cherished c!Techno’s memory is in this world (cherished by q!Phil, by Chayanne, by Tallulah, by everyone who has heard the stories about Phil's old friend) would probably be so...relieving for c!Phil, who has felt so alone in his grief. (Of course, he has c!Niki and c!Ranboo to grieve with him back in his world, but again---hardcore isolationist. It would be a long time before he felt the motivation to reach out.)

I have a few other small details floating around (talking to q!Wilbur, the fancy "technology"/mods on the island, using paragliders to pseudo-fly, complaining about the tropical weather, the dubious existence of q!Kristin, anarchist solidarity, interactions with Chayanne and Tallulah, and so on) but I've laid out the meat of it.

God this post got long lmao. Clearly I need to get to writing that fic. Thanks for letting me ramble at ya! If you’ve got any ideas u wanna share, send em my way! No pressure to respond to this at all ofc I know this is a Lot. Thanks for the ask :D

#qsmp #q!philza #qsmp au #asks for curly

[puckish-rogue]

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍

NAME : Andre! (aka Ya big boi Andre aka Andre 4000 aka the Monster of Miami aka Rico Suave)

PRONOUNS : He / Him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : Discord! Tumblr IM's are way too small for me to read at times due to my eyesight (bad enough to the point I'm not legally allowed to drive). Also Tumblr asks just wind up being way too slow.

MOST ACTIVE MUSE : The Boss as he is my only active Muse.

EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS : I've been doing Tumblr RP since I believe 2011, and that was a very loose and kinda wild form of it. I would kind of just wander around from places, whether it was brief stints in groups or indie, before finally playing SR2 and establishing Bossu's blog. From there I'd just pick up on a lot of advice and work on my writing till we come to today!

BEST EXPERIENCE : There are plenty of experiences that I'm absolutely fond of. And while this may sound like a cop out, I truly am happy to have made so many long-lasting friendships on the site that have been going strong for years now.

RP PET PEEVE : I could list so much shit that annoys the hell out me, especially regarding my eyesight since I know some motherfuckers really love turning up the saturation on their graphics. But I think my overall biggest pet peeve is one that I know a lot of people share, and that's when someone decides to act the fuck up over nothing and take what should always be considered a hobby way too seriously. Last thing anyone needs to deal with are freaks who are desperately trying to make up for their time in high school by acting like a shithead to others.

PLOTS OR MEMES : Plots are a definite preference for me. But I always want to stress the fact that when I say this, it's always very very light unless there's a clear need to get much more fully detailed. I guess that also comes from me messing around in what I'd consider an abandoned universe since the series has been rebooted. So I have plenty of ideas of where things could have gone, and I'd like to make sure any of my RP partners who want to involve their Muse with that world know what they're getting into. But memes are still good if I can sorta improvise on an idea! My only real issue is that sometimes I do worry about coming up with something that goes against a person's Muse or whatever. So I'd hate to step on any toes.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : Both are fine! Definitely depends on the thread and where things going. I'll just always make sure to mention that I hate unnecessary padding. So if a reply of mine might come up a little short, I'll always let my partner know.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES : Oh sure, absolutely. I'm running my own little gang down here in the mean streets of sunny Miami. My body count is through the roof, and I definitely want to expand my empire outwards. This is totally 100% real and serious, please believe me for I have no reason to ever lie to you. I'm a trustworthy person.

TAGGED BY: Stole it from Miss @bitterseadrop cause I'm a thief TAGGING: Your mom

#out of fucks ⚜ { ooc } #Dash Games ⚜

[lactoseintolerentswag]

As someone who only draw single pieces, your ability to write is fascinating to me…I’m curious, how do you start building the storyline for longer fics?

Do you just think of a scenario (e.g., A punched B in the face) first and expand around it (What happened that leads to A punching B, what happens after, do they resolve their conflict)? Or do you start with the potential story arc of your central character (how A goes from a cocky person to a responsible one), or through some other ways entirely?

(TLDR: How do you plan out the storyline of your fics?)

Oh my gosh anon you just got awarded question of the night I love talking about writing (even if im answering these bc im currently blocked from writing ASDFGHJK).

And really my answer is both in a way!! Sometimes I'll think of a scenario first and expand around it, or the potential of character arcs. Long fics can spin from any idea big or small.

The fic I'm working on now? The Four Knights actually came from a joke with a friend. We were speculating about our own separated aus for fun and I really got stuck on Megamind-stylized villain!leo that was just a silly goofy guy because yeah. Canon!leo is dramatic af. And then I started asking myself questions.

Here's the important part in figuring out a long fic, or even just writing in general, is to keep asking yourself questions.

Okay so Leo is a villain, why is he like that what led him down that path? That's a broad question that will lead down to a lot of little questions, which is where the plot starts rolling.

Okay so he's a villain because his motivation is to take over the Hidden City, but how is going to attempt to do that? Okay now he has his own version of a Hidden City gang just like the Masters of Barbarianism or Makers of Brutality, but how will this make him interact with important figures like Draxum and Big Mama?

Knowing your characters is also important. Characters are your anchor, your guideline. All this question-asking relies on knowing your character well enough to have an answer to what they would do in that situation.

The things I focus on in character writing, especially when thinking with planning a plot in mind, is their strengths and their flaws.

Now as for the Planning planning part, different writers have different techniques. Sometimes someone just needs to sit down and write what they have in their head. As for me? I'm a very dedicated out-liner.

I'll write down all the main ideas or sick imagery I had in mind. Like why does villain!leo have a bird mask, we totally gotta flesh that out. And then I begin with a rough outline of the story breaking it into different parts or acts.

I tend to do this when I'm more focused on character arcs, with a character's traits and motivations progressing throughout a story.

For me this is super brief, just a line of bullet points to keep the ideas running. And then I'll get into chapter by chapter outline.

I make chapter by chapter outlines with a broad sense of what I want to happen in one chapter and then move onto the next. Once I'm done with that I return back to the start to refine the details into bullet points.

And this is a lot (if I'm passionate abt one thing it's writing) so,

tldr: Start with a broad idea or goal, and keep breaking it down into chunks. First by questioning why the main goal would happen, and then fleshing out the details little by little.

I wish you the best of luck with writing and art!!!! The act of creation is a time-consuming, but is ultimately wonderful and full of passion. Hope my word vomit was helpful haha.

#critter talks #asks #text post #wow this got long

[pinchraccoon]

Pinch Reviews: Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

I hold a lot of love for Resident Evil 4, the original, that is. I'd been pretty interested in 4make (as it will henceforth be called) for large parts of its dev cycle, and after playing the original a mere six months prior, I felt that when I played the game near launch, I was pretty cognizant of changes and differences made to the game that would be felt either extremely positively or extremely negatively.

I am very happy to report that this game, despite it changing plenty, retains the vast majority of the spirit of the game, and remains extremely fun, replayable, and tense for its entire runtime.

I'll attempt to review the game in short and spoiler-free quickly here so as to not spoil any changes for anyone who isn't interested in hearing about such things. 4make makes excellent use of the modern hardware that it released for in order to provide crisp, satisfying gameplay, consisting of responsive gunplay, the same integral inventory management, and exploration of unique and intriguing areas that I would say, even to those who aren't fans of the series, but are looking for an "in" to the survival-horror genre, could very easily enjoy. At the end of the day, the game is still Resident Evil 4. All of the praise that one could give to that game can, by and large, be given to this game as well.

Now to discuss the changes made to this game. My listing of changes will not be comprehensive, as there are far more than I care to list, but those that I do detail will be in the interest of explaining the spirit of the changes at hand.

Graphical updates:

The game is beautiful. What do you want me to say. I can look at Leon Kennedy my beautiful malewife in better quality than ever before. This is a net positive. (although the graphical differences only provide a "different" experience not a "better" experience)

Expanded exploration:

RE4 had multiple sections that would incentivize the player to explore, but large portions of the collectibles were reasonably easy to miss. 4make seeks to expand on the exploration present in the original by adding a map with waypoints, markers, and other smaller quests for Leon to embark on in each major area of the game. Initially, I was split on these sections, however as the chunk of my psyche that requires me to pick up lots and lots of little goodies took over, I came to quite enjoy it. The increased focus on collecting and exploration can allow the player to upgrade their weapons more efficiently, without the stress placed on them to pick and choose upgrades that they'd keep for the whole of the game. I like this change, as you *can* ignore it all if you'd like, but if you want more stuff to do or more money to throw at your problems, you can do that as well.

The Parry:

Leon can parry with knives, so long as he has one that isn't broken. That's cool as fuck. You can parry chainsaws. Parrying an unarmed melee cuts the enemies' hand off. I love parrying. Good addition. (also it helps to alleviate some of the balancing issues present in RE4 relating to not having a lot of options in the close range.)

Ashley:

No longer tied to a health bar, Ashley now operates on a "downed" system that basically means that you can tell her to follow or stay, but if she gets hit, she's on the ground and needs to be picked back up, lest she be vulnerable to kidnapping or death. This alleviates some of the problems with Ashley eating all of your healing items through very little fault of your own. I like this change.

Boss fight tweaks:

Some fights are practically unchanged, like Menendez, while others are completely reworked, Like Ramon Salazar. Some are even just flat out omitted, like U-3. I'll refer to each and give a brief description of changes and whether I like them or not.

Del Lago: Removed some QTE elements in favor of real-time steering. Largely unchanged. Still fun.

El Gigante: Practically the same.

Menendez: Largely the same.

Verdugo: Pretty much the same, but Leon is more responsive now compared to the tank controls of old, so it is a bit easier. A-OK.

Ramon Salazar: Complete overhaul, unique arena, unique boss form, unique attacks. Nothing is the same. I'm kinda indifferent though.

U-3: Completely Omitted. Good Riddance.

Jack Krauser: COMPLETE overhaul, he is WAY fucking better in every conceivable way, narratively, gameplay wise, the whole way down. Whereas I would once dread Krauser's fight because it was a bit of a slog, now I hold the Krauser fight in high regard as perhaps the best narrative moment in the game.

Saddler: Doesn't suck ass now.

Ultimately I like the boss changes made quite a bit, very little that wasn't broken got "fixed" and I'm happy with that. The largest changes really come from the updated combat systems.

Story:

4make has a much greater emphasis on providing characterization to each of the characters, and provides a much greater narrative weight to what Leon, Krauser, Ashley and Luis go through. I would be willing to say that in terms of impact this game might win out for me, but everyone is entitled to their own take as to what were the "bette" story aspects individually.

The Regenerators:

This one is gonna be real specific, but bear with me. Regenerators are not scary in this game after about 30 seconds of having knowledge that they exist. First, the way they're introduced is changed from the iconic "thaw out" scene from the original, to them just, sorta being alive and active? It still spooked me a bit, as I was expecting the original scene, and I wasn't prepared to take one on, but I was quickly soothed once I learned that you can parry the regenerators. Being able to parry any enemy puts the player in a state where with reasonable timing and attention, most enemies who are parryable can do not a damn thing to you. This makes the Regenerator into more of a combat aspect, as opposed to the horrifying wall they were originally. It's a nitpick, sure, but this is legitimately my *one* issue with this game.

Overall, I'm willing to surmise that 4make is a pretty faithful, but extremely fresh modernization of a classic title, and while it works to bring the game to modern audiences with its updated graphics and mechanics, I don't feel that the experience is better or worse than the original. This isn't to 4make's detriment as much as it speaks to the unyielding quality present in the original Resident Evil 4.

Play the game.

#pinch reviews #resident evil #leon s kennedy #vtuber #game review #envtuber #indie vtuber #game reviews #raccoon #pinch raccoon #twitch streamer

[nagichi-boop]

Ways me & Razputin Aquato are similar

Yuuup. I’m doing this again. I don’t have much else to say for the caption. I just like writing these self indulgent posts because I’m selfish.

TW // Mentions of trauma, familial issues, mentions of ableist language(?)

Also, spoilers

1. Desire to help others

One of Raz’s most notable qualities, more apparent in Psychonauts 2, is Raz’s determination to put others first. He always tries his best to help others out of respect and care for them. Heck, even when his psyche was merged with Coach Oleander, he did his best to help him, despite being in a very stressful situation. This does sometimes backfire, however, as Raz will go out of his way to protect those who have wronged him. When the interns hazed him, Raz lied to Sasha and Otto about the reason his clothes were missing. And when Forsythe scolded Raz for messing with her mental connections, Raz took all responsibility and didn’t mention the fact the other interns pressured him to do it.

I’m not helpful like Raz is, but I definitely relate to the mentality of putting others first, mostly out of a lack of self respect. I blame myself for things that I maybe acknowledge isn’t really my fault and even if someone has wrong me, I take it as my personal failing. I have this belief of “I must live to serve others, even if it destroys me, because at least I will be worth something”. Which I’m sure you can recognise is a pretty harmful mindset to be in. It’s just that much like Raz, anytime I try to express my own autonomy and interests, they are met with a strong negative reception, and therefore I often feel like I’m only valuable to others if I comply to their needs instead of my own. More on this later though.

2. Strong fixed interests

So part of this plays into the fandom headcanon (might as well be canon though) that Raz is autistic. That isn’t what I’m here to discuss, but part of the reason why is because of Raz’s interest in the Psychonauts and psychology. We obviously know that Raz is obsessed with the Psychonauts as he strongly pursues becoming one, but also in how he is able to recall things from specific issues of the True Psychic Tales comics. We don’t see mention of it as often, but it’s also implied that Raz is interested in psychology. In the first game he mentions to Lili that he had been reading up on how to deal with nightmares and expressed a desire and interest in wanting to help Lili with her’s. And in the second game, Raz is shown to have a strong understanding of things such as sensory overloads and panic attacks, knowing how to appropriately deal with each of them.

I definitely relate to Raz on the psychology interest. Ever since I was about 14 and started to wrestle with my own mental health issues, I took a casual interest in it, though I also enjoyed little psychology tidbits before then too. Then when I was about 18, I fell down a huge rabbit hole with it and expanded my interest beyond depression and anxiety, which is sort of the only thing I knew of before then. I also have a strong love for things like Pokémon and have a fairly detailed knowledge of different aspects of it. I’m not well versed on everything, but I could definitely tell you some random obscure facts that I learned when I was younger or somewhat confidently name most Pokémon (apart from the ultra beasts, get them away from me).

3. Feeling like a burden

This one is a brief one and is only based on a few pieces of dialogue, but there are multiple occasions where Raz will say something like “I’m sorry to bother you” when talking to someone, despite that person not expressing any sort of annoyance with Raz being there. He’s projecting his own feelings when he does this, assuming that he is a nuisance to those around him. I often feel like this too and tend to apologise like this all the time, even if I logically know I have no reason to apologise.

4. Sense of humour

Raz also shows he on occasion enjoys dark humour. When Raz blasts a seagull, he says “see you in hell”, which is…pretty dark for him considering he’s usually quite an upbeat and kind person. To most people I appear to be very tame, but deep down I have a part of me that is very dark with humour, which to some might come as a shock. (I mean, people irl are surprised when they learn I like rollarcoasters, let alone that I would make dark jokes causally.)

5. Outwardly casual regarding his trauma

When Raz’s psyche begins to separate from Oleander’s and he and his father walk into the caravan, Raz very casually says that he can’t wait to tell Augustus all the messed up things that he’s been through. He also makes a joke while in “Truman’s” mind about the fact Maligula is his fake grandma like it’s no big deal. Both of these events are things that Raz probably should be more freaked out about, especially given his age, but instead he treats it like it’s humorous. I assume this is probably a means of disconnecting himself from what has happened. After all, if he wasn’t affected by it, he wouldn’t have screamed when he saw the rabbit when he woke up outside the caravan in his mental world. And again, when he helps Lucy defeat Maligula, he smiles briefly before dropping his mask and hugging his Nona tightly, like he has been holding back his fear.

I definitely do this. People who talk to me know that I do this all the time. I try to dismiss the things I have been through, telling myself that it’s not that bad and it’s just “one of those things”. But then every now and then I will break over it. Something I’ve been neglecting will come to mind and it’ll pain me. Generally speaking though, much like Raz, I hide my pain as best as I can and try not to drop the mask too often.

6. Suppressed inner child

I’m not sure how reaching/obscure of a point this is, but if you compare Raz to his archetype, Raz is much more mature in comparison whereas his archetype runs around, makes airplane sounds and is generally hyperactive. People have suggested that this might be an indication for how Raz has suppressed his childish tendencies and pushed them down so he can focus solely on being a good Psychonaut, which as a young person means proving that he’s mature enough to handle such a job.

I don’t have the same circumstances as Raz, but I’ve definitely felt like I’ve had to repress my childishness to an extent. I try to put on a “retail persona” as I call it with most people, aka I try to appear professional and polite. This also means not stimming as much and not talking about my interests, most of which I seem to be “childish”. There’s very few people irl that know I collect plushies, for example. I’ve tried doing this less (wearing Sanrio bags out and trying not to care if people see me being plushies), but it’s still really difficult because I don’t want people to judge me.

7. His family

This one is part projection as my circumstances aren’t 100% matching his, but there are also similarities between our families. I’ll try and take them a family member at a time and compare them separately. Apologies for this section being rambly.

Raz’s mother is someone who makes passive aggressive remarks about Raz, talking as though he is inferior to the family for running away and generally othering him from the family. She isn’t afraid to make a spectacle, even if it’ll embarrass Razputin. If Raz mentions anything to do with being psychic, he is either scolded or has his relationship with others (his father) used to guilt him, in effect punishing him for having curiosity. There’s more I can say, but I don’t want to make this a walk of text about her. My mother may not do the exact same things, but she says very hurtful things casually much like Donatella does. It feels that she doesn’t respect me for getting in touch with my autonomy and instead insists on what I should be doing, all in the frame of wanting what’s best for me because she loves me, while actively ignoring parts of me, like my mental illness and (likely) neurodivergence.

Next up is his father. Augustus in the first game flashbacks is shown to be strict, trying to stop Raz from embracing his powers and eventually tearing up his pamphlet about the summer camp. When Raz has merged psyches with Coach Oleander, we get a glimpse of how Raz views Augustus - he thinks his father has disowned him and that he doesn’t want Raz to be happy. Thankfully for Raz, Augustus embraces his own psychic powers and tries to bond with Raz, though he is quite timid when it comes to showing it openly. My father is mentally ill to a degree and most likely who my brother and I got autism from. But much like Augustus in the first game, he chooses to ignore these and in turn projects onto me and assumes our experiences are the same. For a very long time he tried to talk me out of seeking a diagnosis for autism or any mental health issue, but thankfully he’s at least backed off. Sadly he doesn’t really support me though, so Raz’s mental image of his father is not far off from how I seen mine. My father is just unwilling to change, though.

Finally, his brother Dion. While the fandom version of Dion is somewhat comical, his personality in game is quite abrasive. He is very cruel to Raz, even expressing that the family would be better off without him. When clairvoyance is used on him, he quite literally views Raz as a punching bag. I actually have two brothers, but I don’t talk to one of them much since they got married. I’ll be referring to the one who still lives with me and our parents. He’s an absolute jerk. He insults me, he blatantly lies to make himself look better than me and just very generally treats me like I’m inferior, weak and insignificant. But since to my parents he appears more productive and useful (he works full time, drives, etc), I often feel like the lesser child and my brother gets away with treating me poorly.

I guess the tldr of this section is basically my family treats me like I’m inferior and uses me as the butt of a lot of jokes (for example, on multiple occasions they’ve referred to me as “acting special needs” when I act hyper). And they guilt me. A lot.

— x —

I think that about sums it up nicely. Once again, I’m sure absolutely no one is reading this, but I enjoy doing this as a self indulgent exercise to trick myself into believe I am anywhere near as lovable as the characters I like. Which I’m not. Anyways, byeee~

#razputin aquato #psychonauts #psychonauts spoilers #psychonauts 2 #psychonauts 2 spoilers #nagichi talks

[rywritten]

🖋- Headcanon about a dream smp character

🎤 hello, thoughts on ur version of techno. Do u have cool back story?? 👁️👁️

—rin

thanks for the ask rin!

as for my version of c!techno, i do have some headcanons that i wanna share :D

(me: this is going to be a very fun and brief overview, nothing too fancy.

narrator voice: she ends up taking this way too seriously and ends up creating an entire backstory for c!techno, full of angst and dark themes)

In terms of appearance:

i use etceteraart's version of techno as inspo in all of my fics. i really like the pushed back fringes and undercut on him and find it a lot more attractive than the usually favored long haired techno design.

In terms of canon lore:

im actually very fascinated with techno and 'the voices' since it gives off deadpool vibes. it's something i tend to give a lot of consideration when writing canon-verse fics because i like being able to explore the amount of power the voices have towards techno when it comes to making decisions. personally, i like to think that techno, while he tends to find the voices annoyingly loud, would still hear them out if their opinions clash and give them the opportunity to reason out why they want to do things differently. but i wouldn't really say he'd be the type to listen much, techno tends to do whatever he wants regardless of what the voices say.

In terms of a cool back story:

so this got out of hand way too fast and ended up being way too long. initially i was just planning to mess around with techno's lore, but then my lizard brain went: what if we add some depth and angst? and who was i to ignore that? so here i am with a very detailed and elaborate backstory for my beloved c!techno

cw: blood, disturbing images of corpses, and mentions of suicide

make sure to take those warnings into consideration before proceeding, but aside from that i hope you enjoyed this sort of c!techno origin story!! i had way too much fun typing this as i go. (fun fact: the entire backstory was something i actually came up on the fly bc it's only now after receiving this ask did i take the time to properly plan out my ver of techno's past)

so yeah, without further ado, here's c!techno's very cool and very detailed backstory:

so, ive always had this headcanon that techno was forced into the role of being the "blood god"

it wasn't his choice, but rather something he had to become in order to survive.

see, i pictured his childhood was something quiet and peaceful, where he lived in a small secluded village located in a land unknown to most, where his people are mostly farmers and miners. (or so he's lead to believe)

their land is bountiful with rich minerals and their harvests are always plentiful. the children would play in the fields until sunset and everything, in techno's eyes, was perfect.

the only thing they were ever told not to do was cross the boundary.

but one day, out of curiosity, techno went a little too far from his village when he followed a strange looking animal that further lead him throughout the forest that surrounded his village, until he finds himself at the very end of the boundary.

the boundary is a thick red rope that expands throughout the forest, encaging their village in a protective circle (from what, techno does not know for certain). there are paper talismans hanging every few feet on the red rope and a small golden bell hangs right at the very center.

the wind blows, causing the bell to jingle ominously, reminding techno once again of the village elder's warning. but before he could step back and make his way home, the strange animal that he's been following decided to appear once again, but this time it was on the other side of the boundary.

it stood quietly, with its head tilted to the side as if it was waiting for techno to catch it. and as a child, techno's curiosity and fascination got the better of him. he steps out of the rope and the moment he does, everything that transpired afterwards happened far too fast for him to comprehend immediately.

the sound of the bell began to increase in volume, almost deafening him, and the next thing he knew, the red rope was cut in half while the talismans have started to burn one by one on each side. techno frantically tried to tie the rope together, but as soon as he grabbed onto it, the rope began to burn from his touch, leaving nothing but ashes.

fear struck him then, causing techno to run back to his village as fast as he could.

the sun had set moments ago, causing techno to stumble and fall a couple of times in his haste to get home and as soon as he reaches the meadow overlooking his village, he begins to wonder why the sky still looked so bright from where he stood.

it's only once he's reached the bottom of the meadow did he realize that the bright sky was from the fire surrounding the village.

around him, he could hear the screams of dying men and women. there are strangers amongst his people, all of them riding horses wearing metal and the strangers riding them were dressed the same way. they speak a language techno cant understand, but he saw the way they used their swords to pierce through the flesh of his own people and techno immediately runs towards his house in search of his family.

his mother and brother are nowhere to be seen inside their small hut, but as soon as he reaches the back of his house he's met with the sight of his family, both of them dead with their eyes gouged out.

techno screams until his throat is sore and he could taste the blood in his mouth.

he is left powerless in his grief, but the invaders wastes no time in capturing him. Suddenly, there are hands wrapping around him, holding him tight and bounding his arms and legs. techno struggles to break free, but his captors are stronger and many in numbers. it didn't take long until he's pressed to the ground and knocked unconscious.

the last image that he sees is his village burning to the ground, it's only later that he finds out that he's the only survivor.

he's taken to an arena the morning after, they hand him a rusted sword and a wooden shield before sending him off to the very center of the stadium where he meets a hundred or so like him, all of them trapped with weapons, most of them kids around his age.

an announcer was saying something, but techno doesn't understand the language he was speaking, though it seemed that most of the people trapped there with him did. their hold on their weapon tightened and they were all looking at him with something close to panic and desperation, but the intent to kill was unmistakable.

a horn blares from a distance and all at once everyone was charging at him with a cry.

while techno knew nothing about fighting or welding a weapon, survival was his top priority for now. he wasn't going to die here, he vowed to himself. and once his resolve was solidified, he felt something possess him for a moment. it was only for a short time where everything blurred to a sea of red and once he's finally come to, techno is met with an arena full of dead bodies.

he was the only one left standing. the crowd cheers from their seats and the announcer was saying something again, but techno doesn't register anything except for the slight shake in his grip and the blood soaking his hands and clothes.

he's ushered inside a small cell right below the coliseum along with a few dozen others that would sneer or shout at him when they passed their own cells, and its there that techno starts to learn the different languages his captors and fellow prisoners spoke.

it's on his second fight that he finds out more about his people and the attack that had changed his life forever.

the announcer's cheerful voice spoke rapidly, telling the audience a story about an ancient deity that had given a certain village blessings and a treasure unlike anything anyone could ever imagine.

they call his people, children of the blood god, for they have been blessed with wine red eyes and hair as beautiful as a rose. they say their eyes are worth all the riches of the world and techno's suddenly reminded of his mother and brother's corpses and the two identical holes left on their eyes.

for years his captors have been searching for them, but had no luck given the blood god's protection, it was only that one cursed day where they were able to locate the secret village and techno felt his stomach churn from the realization that it was all his fault.

they raided his village and left nothing behind. the announcer finally points to him, telling the crowd that he was the last of his kind, referring to him as a rare and valuable item that cannot be replaced. he says that the only reason why they're so lenient to let techno participate in the fight is due to the blessings the blood god had given his people: natural fighting instincts and the desire to win.

it doesn't take long for the fighting to start after that, and in the end, techno comes back the victor.

years have past and nothing has changed. he is still the crowned victor, earning the favor of the audience time and time again, and yet he is still treated like livestock by his captors.

he is still kept inside his small prison cell where he is only ever taken out to compete and kill his opponents.

the blood staining his hands have become useless to wash off and each night, despite his new victory, techno feels more and more defeated.

he has not been sleeping well for the past week, plagued by nightmares of the past and memories that haunt him even during his waking moments. in his exhaustion, voices have started to talk inside his head without his promoting.

at first it had just been his mother and brother, soon they were followed by the people of his village, all of them voicing their sorrows and pain. but then the voices shift to those he has killed, all of them angry and accusatory. they mock him and wish for his death, and as the day keeps going, the voices have increased in numbers and in volume.

techno thinks he's finally lost it, that his sanity has finally snapped, when the voices have been plaguing his mind for weeks without end.

it's on his 68th victory that he manages to swipe a knife from one of the guards before he's locked once again inside his cell.

one sleepless night, he takes the knife he'd stolen from under his pillow. he passes it on each hands and tests the sharpness of the tip with his pointer.

a small cut emerges and a bead of blood trickles down from it that techno watches silently. the voices are all shouting but it sounded distorted to him from so many of them talking at the same time.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He screams, shaking his head vigorously.

"Stop talking." he whispers for no one else to hear.

techno breathes in slowly and closes his eyes and thinks about ending it all. once he opens them, he makes peace with his decision and aims the knife directly at this throat.

he's exhausted and tired to the bone, there is nothing to gain from his countless of victories but nightmares and vengeful ghosts that haunt him whenever he closes his eyes. his desire for everything to stop now outweighs his desire to avenge his people.

he wishes he was stronger, but now he's just so incredibly tired.

slowly, he pulls the knife back and readies himself to take aim. but before he could strike the final blow, the voices have stopped talking altogether, surprising techno momentarily.

"What do you think you're doing?" One voice, unfamiliar to techno, spoke.

the voice sounded gravelly, not entirely human. it sounded all knowing, ancient, as if it was as old as time itself.

"Who are you?" techno asked instead of answering.

"I go by many names." the voice spoke, almost sounding amused. "but i believe most have started to refer to me as the blood god."

"What do you want from me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the blood god spoke, quietly. "A god needs a vessel, and you are the last of my children."

"Why me?" techno pushed on, unable to hide the pain and anger in his tone. "You could've had so many other options if you had saved everyone on that day. I was the one who ended up getting them killed."

"My child, what you had done was indeed a mistake that bore quite the horrible burden." the blood god spoke without the accusation techno had expected. "but a child should never be condemned for their curiosity, no matter the outcome. you have learned from your actions and have grown from it. You have proven yourself worthy to me."

"I haven't proven anything." techno nearly shouted.

"then continue to live." the blood god spoke evenly. "killing yourself will not solve your problems nor will it avenge your people."

techno thinks about it for a moment. he pictures his mother and brother, the smiles on their faces on a summer afternoon, the beautiful lush forest, and the colorful wildflowers growing in the meadow. then he remembers his village burning and the horrible sound of skin and bones breaking, and the unmistakable stench of death. he looks at this hands and pictures them soaked in blood, making his decision, he drops the knife and stares at the darkness surrounding his room.

"Alright." he says, making up his mind. "what do you want me to do?"

the blood god laughs, sounding delighted by his answer. "Become my blade and i will bless you with one more gift."

"What kind of gift?"

"Blood calls for blood." the voice spoke eagerly. "If you demand for blood to be shed, I will grant you the power to spill it with your own hands."

"And what does becoming your blade entail?"

The blood god thought for a moment before answering techno with "You are to be my vessel. The blade is its master's extension and when I call for you, you will do as I say."

"does agreeing to this deal get rid of the other voices too?" techno asks, hopeful.

the blood god laughs again, "im afraid the other voices will remain. they wish to continue their stay until they are put to rest."

techno sighs, resigned. he thinks about the offer one final time before making his decision.

in this world, there is no coming back from death. but the blood god has given him a second chance despite techno's shortcomings. and this time, techno doesn't plan on wasting it.

"A blade, huh." techno thought to himself. "i guess it's not a fate worse than death. You got yourself a deal."

The blood god doesn't say anything else after that, but a strange looking mark manifests on his palm during the god's sudden absence.

Techno looked at the small red mark at the very center of his left palm curiously. It was one word, written in his own native language that read: BLADE

The blood god may think he's helping techno along, becoming the god's vessel used for vengeance and retribution-

But the blood god knows nothing about Techno's wrath, and fundamentally once unleashed, it tends to lack control.

Closing his palm and letting the mark sink in, Techno decides that for once, he is finally ready to carry the burden of his entire village's need for vengeance.

tonight, he sheds the title of survivor and puts on a new one. he is now a weapon, a raging calamity ready to cause havoc whenever he goes.

he will be the victor, no matter the cost.

the voices are back now, and they all chant one thing in unison as if they've sensed techno's new resolve.

"Blood for the blood god!"

. . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆. . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

💌 DSMP Analysist ask game!

#ry does ask games #technoblade #c!technoblade #when you answer an ask and you end up writing an entire origin story at 4 AM #yeah this is my life #@ c!techno i hope you appreciate this amount of effort and world building i made just for you

[drewandareview]

My Top Ten Favorite YouTube Channels

Originally published July 23rd, 2013

Sometimes I feel inadequate because I don’t have any “underground interests".  But other times, I realize I definitely have underground interests.  I’d say my most solid proof of this is my devotion to Internet entertainment.  I don’t know of many people who take it quite as seriously as I do, and I have as much passion for watching it as I do making it.

So to shed a little bit of my “hip side" unto you, here are my top 10 favorite YouTube channels with brief descriptions of why I picked them.  (Disclaimer: I have the right to include my own channels if I want to.  But I’m not going to.)

10. nigahiga   I actually started out on YouTube before the thing was even two years old.  At the time, I viewed it as a place for amateur auteurs.  Where one person can make everything herself.  I thought that was fascinating, and that’s largely the kind of content you would find on YouTube at the time (2007).  But, as with all good ideas, YouTube expanded and grew business-oriented. I have no resentment toward this because I understand it.  I’m jumping onto that boat myself.

But I still have deep veneration for the people who truly do everything themselves, and for that, I have to include Ryan Higa on the list, the man behind nigahiga.  He’s been doing this YouTube thing for even longer than I have and while he’s seen much success and popularity, he still has that old-school “YouTube touch" where he does everything himself.  In addition to some clever yet juvenile comedy, you can watch the progression of a person refining his craft.  It’s a fun ride.

9. vlogbrothers The premise is simple: Two brothers send vlogs to each other, one vlog from each brother for a total of two vlogs a week.  And my are their brains something to be admired.  They’re very honest with who they are and what they feel and even in the face of their popularity, they’re more committed to cultivating artistic growth and promoting identity than doing things for money or fame.  It’s admirable to see two vloggers not only with compelling chemistry, but also an earnest love for who they are as people.

8. SecretAgentBob He’s more popularly known as FilmCow, and even more popularly known as “the guy that made Charlie the Unicorn".  His animation is crude and unpleasant, even more so than South Park, but the complete dive into maddening, aimless comedy is a breath of fresh air in a sea of videos with poor aim.  Jason Steele and his team of loyal friends are a truly funny bunch whose effort to making no-shits-given content is as satisfying as it is needed.

7. CGPGrey Not everything popular on YouTube is comedy.  What’s particularly refreshing is to see a surge of interest in channels revolving around education.  By far my favorite of these channels is CGPGrey.  It’s one guy making animated slideshows that illustrate a point of interest.  He seems like “just a normal guy", but the level of research and detail he exerts just to make sure he doles out the right information shows not only a propensity for knowledge, but a respect for those learning from him.  His videos are as amusing as they are beneficial and for someone you never see in person, his presence as a teacher is something remarkable.

6. sxephil Most newscasts are boring.  It’s industry standard to read the news without attachment or much personality.  Which is why Phillip DeFranco is really something unique.  He’ll tell you the news, but only the news he cares about and in the way he wants to.  This could be an annoying trip were he an annoying person, but Phillip DeFranco has an enrapturing view of the world accompanied and a blunt sense of humor that collectively, you just can’t help but dig.  Hopefully his shtick might inspire a wave of more subjective newscasters so those looking to get the scoop can have some variety as well as some personality.

5. StarKidPotter Meet Team Starkid, a contemporary theater troupe of cult status yet all the talent deserving of full-throttle stardom.  While the members of the troupe rotate, each one brings to its productions the finesse of an adult paired with the unadulterated imagination of a kid.  Their videos mainly consist of recorded footage of live shows and while low on budget, they’re written with great humor and sincerity.  The music always soars, the performances always dazzle, and the theatrics of Team Starkid always vibrate with vibrancy.

4. MW10T It’s hard to really place what Mike Peterson is all about.  A low-end member of the film business, Man With 10 Toes really shines with his overt nonsensicality that he heavily breathes into anything he creates.  His greatest attribute is his shameless disconnection from inhibition and embracement of his wholly bizarre mein.  No matter how effortless his work, it’s always labeled with the undeniably engaging mark of his strangeness.  Manwith10toes is the fucked-up fruit on the tree that tastes absolutely amazing.

3. titleofshow It’s not a very active channel anymore and certainly not something a modern YouTuber would gawk over.  It’s the home to “the [title of show] show", a documentation of the process it took to get the musical [title of show] onto Broadway.  The concept is already rich as Broadway is a place with many secrets and any look into its process is worth the time.  But these four friends are wonderful, chromatic people to take this journey with.  Each has a distinct personality, but they all emanate with an honest passion for what they do and an authentic appreciation for their audience.  It doesn’t hurt that the show they’re trying to put on is one of the greatest shows I’ve seen.  It’s a fantastic series: Informative, funny, and even a touching reminder of the great things that can happen when you follow your dreams.

2. BriTANickdotcom BriTANick is sketch comedy at its absolute finest.  Comprised of duo Brian and Nick, their videos exude everything the perfect sketch could have.  They’re inventive, well-paced, unexpectedly well-acted, and culminate into a perfect laugh batch that no fan of comedy should miss.  Their only agenda is to bring out the best in humor.  They’ve had some misses, but when they hit, they hit to sink.

1. 5secondfilms It’s a delight to see so many people (to the point where you lose count) all coming together to make something that on the surface seems pretty trivial.  5 Second Films are exactly what you think: People that make films that are five seconds.  And after nearly five years of uploading five videos a week, they haven’t missed a beat.  5 Second Films gives you the best way to waste your time while simultaneously showing just what kind of gold you can strike when you don’t waste a second.  Relentlessly bold and ostensibly gifted, 5 Second Films delivers short content with a long reach.

The Internet is only a medium.  But it’s a medium that’s brought forth enriching content that I hardly see in any other medium.  When you do things for the Internet, you’re taken much less seriously than when you do things for television or the big screen.  But the Internet, despite being largely embraced by the world, still manages to be one of the best-kept secrets when it comes to entertainment.  While I certainly hope this doesn’t last forever, I’ll embrace the hippness that comes with beaming over something so in the dark.

[gaminganxious]

Stay - Review

Genre: Narrative suspense puzzle game

Release Date: Sept 12th, 2018

Playtime: 7hrs

Completed: Yes

Would Play Again?: I Absolutly plan to revisit this game again. I think it's smart to take some time between plays though.

Before I begin the review, I wanted to give a warning. This game deals with themes of anxiety, depression, and death. The game will caution you about the presence of these themes before you play, but I wanted to be sure I said something here as well. Please be sure you are in the right mindset before you play this game or avoid it entirely if needed. Your safety and well-being are not worth sacrificing to play a game. Please take care. 

With that addressed, I can say I’ve yet to play anything like Stay before. The main character is Quinn, a man who has been kidnapped and left in a dark room with only an old computer for light. On that computer is a chat room and on the other side of that chat room is you. Who you are or how you came to be on the chat is not explained. I’m certain it's left intentionally vague as there are multiple endings to the game. Your every interaction with Quinn impacts how much he trusts you and influences his decision making as he explores his confines. You’ll need to be cautious as the decisions you make can and will get him killed. 

This is a pixel art game which I can go either way on. Sometimes I find the stylistic choices can make objects hard to discern in pixel games. That is not the case here. The art is very clean regardless of whether it's a full blown pixel painted cut scene or just regular gameplay. There are several distinct styles of pixel art throughout the game that range in their complexity and detail but even when it switches to the more base style its still clear what every object is. There are a few points where Quinn looks a little goofy at times but wasn’t enough to really distract from the game. The music lends to the atmosphere without overwhelming the game at anypoint. Despite playing a straight seven hour playthrough I didn’t find it repetitive or intrusive at any point.

For the most part Stay is a narrative experience. Aside from the occasional comment from you, you’ll spend most of your time reading Quinn’s messages and watching him explore his surroundings. It does a good job of making your decisions feel impactful but I did find myself really wishing I could interact more at times. The only other interaction you will have is helping Quinn solve the many puzzles he comes across in his attempt to escape. Aside from a brief and very basic overlay of the chat controls at the beginning of the game you are not given any explanation of the controls. This can be particularly frustrating with the puzzles as the controls are not consistent from puzzle to puzzle and the only way to figure them out is by trial and error. Once the controls were sorted out I found I spent most of my time figuring out how to solve some of the puzzles rather than the actual solving part. The puzzles sort of broke the experience for me in places. Some of them fit the theme of the game really well but others just felt plain unnecessary to me. The use of humors to indicate Quinn’s mood was really interesting to me. Although again I feel like some explanation might have been helpful with regards to it. I have only the many strange internet rabbit holes I've fallen down to thank for knowing what humoralism even is. It fits the theme of the game well. I just wish they had expanded on it a bit more. There is one more feature of note with Stay and that is the Stay and Away tracker. Essentially once you start a game your time spent playing is tracked and your time spent away from the game is also monitored. Even if you close the game entirely, that time is still being recorded. If you spend too long away from the game you’ll begin to lose trust with Quinn so its best to be able to play the whole game in one sitting if you can. 

The story as I experienced from start to finish was suspenseful and captivating. Stay has a real lock on the thriller aspect, at least in the beginning. Things got a little weird for me towards the end and I’m not sure how much of that was the story path I was on and how much is part of the base story. I would definitely like to play it again and see if I come to a different ending. I was invested in the outcome the entire time and I was a little surprised to find just how quickly I became invested in Quinn’s escape. I wanted him to trust me and I wanted him to make it out. 

Stay is currently listed on the Playstation store for $9.99, which I think is certainly worth it for what I got out of the experience. I get the feeling this might be a game most have overlooked, as I did. I will say again that, though not quite a horror game, Stay has some dark and heavy themes. You might also take into consideration that it's best to play the game in one sitting and could take seven hours to complete. Something good for a weekend if you enjoy thriller games but not the best for a casual afternoon.

#gaming #review #playstation #Stay #Pixel game #Narrative game #puzzle game #Thriller game